


ScarletWidow One Shots

by marvelaosdc1620



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Protective Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 91,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelaosdc1620/pseuds/marvelaosdc1620
Summary: A compilation of one shots starring Wanda Maximoff and Natasha Romanoff in various scenarios, where they get to be the mother/daughter/best friends they are.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 316
Kudos: 251





	1. Training Mishap

"Alright, Wanda. Think you can take out that drone?" Steve asked. They were finally training her powers. Most of the team had gotten over ther initial fear and had come to see it with awe. After all, it was pretty cool to watch tendrils of scarlet float objects everywhere.

Wanda bit her lip at Steve's request. She really wasn't comfortable with her powers. The Avengers had been working with her on control recently. They had her use her powers for small tasks, like pouring water into glasses and drying dishes. (Yes, they were getting her to do chores.) But she still didn't feel comfortable when they were around. She knew she could hurt them and they all knew it too.

"Don't break my drone," Tony said roughly. "Just put it down on the tarmac. That thing costs more than your entire country did."

Natasha shot him a hard glare, arms crossed. He was the only one who still had major problems with Wanda. He didn't even bother trying to hide his distaste and distrust of her.

Wanda bit her lip but did as she was told. She carefully let the tendrils wrap around the drone, trying very hard to not break the propellers.

"Good," Steve instructed her. It was just him, Tony, and Natasha today with her. Wanda didn't mind that. Less people meant less potential injuries. "Now just lower it onto the landing pad."

Wanda nodded and did as he said. About halfway down, the drone shot out a small missile. Wanda jumped and wrapped it in red. She had no idea the drone was armed. That one exploded and was quickly replaced by another, which Wanda caught mid air.

"What the hell Tony," Steve said, turning to him. Tony looked smug. "Today we were just supposed to work on putting a moving air vehicle on the ground."

The missile exploded. Two more came out. Wanda was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

"Well, she's supposed to be able to handle it, isn't she? You saw what she did my last robot."

Wanda felt her chest begin to tighten as Steve and Tony got into a loud argument.

It was all too much. Wanda practically threw the drone at the ground. It hit the target hard. She no doubt caused some damage, but not enough.

"Mr. Stark? Please stop the missiles." But he didn't hear her. He was too busy in his yelling match with Steve.

It was safe to say Wanda was panicking. The rate of the missiles releasing was speeding up. The drone was on the ground, but rolling around because of the active propellers. Wanda didn't know how to stop them without breaking it. She caught two, three, four missiles. They all exploded at once. She jumped. The next missile blew up the drone. She didn't realize how close she had the two items. Shards of metal flew across the tarmac. Wanda gasped as she felt a piece embed itself in her abdomen. Her breathing picked up. The drone was destroyed.

"My drone!" Stark said indignantly. "What did you do?" Wanda was looking at him blankly, her breathing labored.

"I told you not to damage it. You freaking blew it up. You really have no control at all, do you? You can't even handle a small training session without breaking things."

She gulped and took a step back. She had forgotten all about the piece of metal in her abdomen.

"Stop it," Natasha said in a low voice. She walked towards Tony slowly. "You know that drone wasn't supposed to shoot. She wasn't prepared for this. That's not her fault."

Wanda gulped. She really hated this. She didn't mean to cause problems, but it seemed like that's all she ever did. Suddenly, she couldn't draw in breaths at all. She was gasping for air when she was surrounded by it. All three of them were arguing now, yelling and gesturing wildly. What if they got even angrier and turned on her? Wanda really didn't want to be locked up.

She turned and ran for the compound, absolute terror coursing through her veins. She had really done it this time. She had destroyed a valuable piece of technology. She made one turn, then another, then another. She darted down shady hallways she didn't even recognize. Everything was blurry and she still couldn't breathe.

She needed to hide. They were going to hurt her. Punish her for what she had done. So she kept going until she found a small closet. She tucked herself inside and pulled her knees to her chest. Her hand flew to cover her mouth as she let out a small sob. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, and she was trembling wildly. Deep down, she knew she was having a panic attack and that she should try to calm down. But rationale was not her forte in the moment. So she continued to heave and allowed tears to run down her cheeks in the darkness.

Natasha sighed loudly, running a hand through her hair. "You're an idiot, you know that? We know you don't like her. You don't have to. But you can't pull this kind of crap on her."

"What crap?" Tony yelled, throwing his hands up. "Is every helicopter she tries to ground not going to be heavily armed? Hm?"

"That's not the point!" Steve yelled. "The point is this was her first day trying it..."

Natasha tuned them out, letting out another frustrated sigh. She looked around for Wanda and her heart sank when she didn't see her. She left Steve and Tony to each other and headed towards the tower.

She strode through the doors and looked around. Wanda was nowhere to be seen This wasn't good. "FRIDAY, where's Wanda?"

"She is currently in the supply closet on the fifth floor, Agent Romanoff," it answered politely. Natasha took off for the stairs. This poor girl.

There was no sign of any human life on the fifth floor when Natasha arrived. There were just a few empty conference rooms, all neat and ready for use. Natasha walked around slowly, listening for her. She froze when she heard a small noise from one of the closets.

Natasha knelt down and put her ear to the door. She could hear Wanda sobbing and gasping for air. She knocked on the door lightly and the sound immediately stopped.

"Wanda?" Natasha called lightly. "It's just me. I'm coming in, okay?"

She waited a few seconds before opening the door and sliding inside. Wanda hadn't answered, but she hadn't really expected her to.

Her heart broke when her eyes fell upon Wanda. She was huddled up in a ball, her face raw from crying. One hand was grasping her chest, indicating she couldn't breathe. Natasha easily recognized the signs.

She sat next to Wanda and put a hand on Wanda's back. "Deep breaths, Wanda. You're alright."

But that didn't seem to help much. Wanda let out another sob, followed by a gasp. "I'm so sorry."

Natasha froze. "For what?"

Wamda couldn't get the words out. Natasha rubbed her back for another minute as Wanda worked up the breath to speak.

"I'm sorry I broke the drone. Please don't hurt me. I didn't mean to."

Natasha felt her heart break in two as Wanda collapsed back into sobs and gasps. She wrapped her other arm around Wanda and pulled her into an awkward side hug.

"Wanda, I'm not mad at you," Natasha began, choosing her words carefully. "Neither is Steve. We didn't plan on the missiles and we're really sorry about that. You weren't prepared for that. We're not angry, okay? No one's going to hurt you here."

Natasha quietly coached Wanda through her breathing for the next few minutes until she had finally calmed down enough to stop gasping. She lifted a shaky hand to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

Natasha unwrapped her far arm and indicated for Wanda to lean on her. "Come here sweetheart."

Wanda sniffled as she slowly leaned into Natasha's side. Natasha wrapped her arm around Wanda's shoulders snugly. They sat in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes. Wanda tried heroically to stop her tears. She kept breathing, listening to Natasha's heart rate in her chest.

"I'm sorry for running off. It wasn't professional or  
brave," Wanda said softly. She couldn't bring herself to look at Natasha, not that she would have seen much. The only light in the closet came from under the door.

Natasha didn't hesitate before answering. "I don't expect you to be any of those things when we're training, Wanda. You tried your best and that's all I ask. And you're only 18, kiddo. Anything that happens is on us for not preparing you. Okay? None of this is your fault."

Wanda nodded into her shoulder. She really wanted to believe Natasha's words. The two stayed curled up on the floor of the closet for another few minutes. Natasha's phone pinged and she pulled it out of her pocket.

"Steve wants to know if you're okay," Natasha asked her. That didn't warrant an answer from Wanda.

Oh. Right. She wasn't okay really. She had forgotten about the piece of metal. So that's why her midsection was throbbing.

"Uh, Tasha?" Wanda said. Natasha looked over at her expectantly. "Please don't be mad. I forgot about this. I, um," Wanda didn't know how to finish the sentence. Instead she just pulled away from Natasha and showed her her abdomen.

Natasha's face didn't change other than a slight raise of her eyebrows. "Is that metal from the drone?" Wanda nodded and bit her lip. She was going to be mad. She just knew it.

Natasha nodded slowly and then got to her feet. She cracked open the door and then offered Wanda her hand. "Come on."

Wanda hesitantly took her hand and got up. She could feel her stomach sinking. "Where are we going?"

"I'm gonna stitch that up," Natasha told her. Oh. Of course they were going to fix her. That made sense. "It would be easier to do in the med wing. You okay with that?" She looked Wanda in the eye.

Wanda really hated medical. She hated needles and people touching her and having injections. Hydra had scared her straight. But she trusted Natasha with all her heart, so she nodded.

Natasha gave her a hand as she climbed onto one of the paper covered tables. She felt the metal in her side tugging painfully as she lay down. She turned her head so she could watch Natasha.

Natasha bustled around the room, pulling out packs of suture and sterile gloves. She pulled out a kidney basin and a pair of tongs from a cabinet, then lots of gauze, betadine, and saline. She also took out a small syringe with a clear liquid in it. Wanda felt herself involuntarily tense up.

Of course, Natasha noticed. "It's a local anesthetic. This is really going to hurt without it. Is that okay?" Wanda really thought it over before nodding. Natasha would never hurt her.

Natasha worked quickly and efficiently. She plunged the needle into Wanda's pale skin and slowly pulled the piece of metal out. She threw it in the basin, glaring at it. She cleaned the area gently with some betadine before wiping it off with the saline and gauze.

"I'm going to start stitching, alright?" Natasha said. Wanda nodded. She could feel Natasha tugging and manipulating the skin, but none of the pain that usually came with it.

Within half an hour, Natasha was putting on Vaseline and a clean bandage. "Don't sit up yet," Natasha instructed. "I don't want these tearing."

Wanda waited until Natasha was there to help her before sitting up. "Feel okay?" Wanda nodded.

Natasha returned the gesture curtly. "Good. Now let's go lie down on your room. I could do with some Netflix, how about you?"

Wanda nodded in agreement. Natasha's hand hovered over lower back as they made their way to Wanda's room.

Natasha helped prop Wanda up with pillows before stretching out beside her. Her phone buzzed again and Wanda looked over. Natasha scowled and put it down next to her on the bed. "It's just Tony being a jerk. What shall we watch?"

Natasha pulled a blanket over both of them as they settled in to watch The Great British Baking Show. She looked over to see Wanda asleep halfway through the first episode. She relaxed some. She knew Wanda didn't often sleep well at night and she could use the rest. She tucked the blanket around Wanda and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning her attention back to the tv, with no plans other than to take care of her little witch.


	2. Fireworks

Wanda had never heard of the Fourth of July before she joined the Avengers. It was such an American holiday. Natasha, also not being American, helped Wanda adjust to the wild amounts of thrown onto her when July came around.

It all began when Clint got back from the grocery store. Natasha raised her eyebrows when he walked in.

He had four packs of hotdogs, burger meat, and buns, along with chips, Doritos, and beers. He grinned as he set down the bags on the counter.

"You were supposed to get bananas," she said carefully. That didn't deter him. He triumphantly pulled a bundle of bananas deep from one of the bags and slammed them on the counter. Natasha shook her head and went back to reading her book. Wanda giggled at their antics.

She didn't really worry about why Clint had gotten all the makings for a barbecue. She figured maybe he was just in a mood. Sometimes, one of them would get weird cravings and "kindly" offer to go to the grocery store. Once, Steve had gone out for milk and come back with ten tubs of chocolate ice cream. To his credit, he did also get a gallon of milk.

The next day, Sam and Steve came home with bags full of streamers and decorations. Wanda and Natasha were sitting at the counter drinking their post workout smoothies when they came in. Wanda furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why all the colorful streamers?" She asked. Steve sighed dreamily. "It's the Fourth of July soon Red. We gotta be prepared!" Sam answered. He slapped Steve on the back. "Not to mention that's also Cap's birthday."

Wanda looked between them, then to Natasha. "What is so special about the fourth day of July?"

Sam gasped dramatically and threw his hand over his heart.

Natasha took another sip of her smoothie before answering. "It's the day America became a country, independent from England, back in 1776. Every day, people around the country have barbecues and decorate with obnoxiously patriotic decorations."

Wanda nodded slowly. To her knowledge, Sokovia did not have an Independence Day.

"Why does America celebrate itself?" Wanda asked. That gave Natasha a good laugh.

"You're gonna love it Wanda," Steve told her with a smile. "There's food, streamers, decorations, and we all get to spend time together, not training."

That sounded like a perk. She would take a barbecue over training. If Steve said it would be fun, maybe it really would be. She did a bit of research that night. Every picture that came up had people with face paint and flag clothing in it. She rested her head on the palm of her hand as she continued to scroll.

Natasha came up behind her and leaned over her shoulder. Wanda looked up at her, looking concerned. "Natasha, I do not want to be rude," Wanda began. She bit her lip. "But these pictures make Americans seem self absorbed and obnoxious."

Natasha laughed as she lowered her chin into Wanda's head, wrapping her arms around her as she continued to scroll through the search results. "That's not rude at all, Wanda. It's pretty accurate for most on the Fourth of July in America. I'm loving these pictures. Keep going."

They found some more gems and laughed at them until it was late. They both went to bed that night content.

The third was then upon them. Clint came out of his room that morning with a bag in each hand. "I'm here to say goodbye," he said dramatically. He saw everyone's panicked faces and quickly added, "for the weekend. I'm spending the fourth with my family."

There was a collective sigh of relief. "Why are you like this," Steve said tiredly. He hugged everyone goodbye before heading out the door. Wanda found herself disappointed. She liked Clint and she was excited to have a barbecue with him. But maybe another time.

The rest of the day went by regularly. Wanda and Natasha went for a run and then did some training with her powers. Steve and Sam "raced," if you could even call it that. Tony and Bruce went out for last minute decorations while everyone else training. They wanted to get some surprises for their teammates.

The next morning was soon upon them. Wanda was somewhat relieved when there were no crazy decorations in the kitchen. She wasn't nervous, exactly, for the holiday. She was more curious than anything else.

The day started normally. Natasha offered to spar with her for a little while before lunch. The rest of the team was mysteriously absent.

"Where is everyone?" Wanda asked as she bit into her peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Natasha sighed. "Probably setting up for tonight. Tony is picking up Steve's cake at some expensive bakery in town."

Wanda paled slightly. "Was I supposed to get him something? I have not gone out recently. Oh dear,"

Natasha cut her off. "Don't worry about it. There's a card you need to sign for him. Write a message. That's your contribution."

Wanda bit her lip. She still felt guilty.

"Hey, don't worry. Not only does he not expect you to get you anything, but most of us didn't. He's turning 96. He's had plenty of gifts over the years."

Wanda nodded. "96?"

Natasha laughed. "He was in that ice for about 70 years. He's an old man, straight out of the 30s."

Wanda knew that Steve was old, but had no idea he was almost 100. No wonder he still talked like he did.

They snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie after lunch. Around six, Natasha got up with a sigh. "Come on," she said to Wanda, offering her a hand. "We should go see what they're up to."

They headed out back to the patio of the tower. Tony was at the grill, smoke billowing around him. Steve and Sam were finishing hanging up cray paper streamers across the space. Bruce was setting up the table, with a flag themed tablecloth and some white string lights. He smiled when he saw them.

"Hey ladies," he said. "Could you put out the napkins and silverware?"

They obliged and finished setting up the table. By the time all the decorations were up, the sun was starting to set.

"Wanna watch?" Natasha asked Wanda, who nodded. They went up to the top of the tower and sat on the edge, watching the sky turn into a spread of bright oranges and red, before the sun finally tucked itself behind the trees.

They went back down to the patio, where Tony was handing out burgers and hot dogs.

"How many?" He asked them. He gave both of them cheeseburgers. They settled down with the others at the table, digging into their burgers.

"This is not so bad," Wanda commented. The patio was alight from the string lights. It was a peaceful and warm night out. To top it all off, Tony looked absolutely ridiculous in his American flag apron.

Wanda was starting to enjoy herself. Steve turned on some music from his childhood, which they all danced to.

Steve led Wanda in a dance to a song the others all made fun of. She giggled wildly as he twirled her in a circle.

"I feel like I'm at my middle school's 1920s themed dance," Sam commented.

Steve shot him a look, hands going to his hands indignantly. "Hey. This is from the 40s, thank you very much. My mom loved it."

They all laughed heartily at his comment. The night went on, gaining energy. Bruce and Natasha even slow danced. They broke out the beers around eight. Steve was very adamant that Wanda was not to have one.

"I'm sure she grew up drinking, right Wanda?" Bruce asked.

She nodded. "There was no drinking age at home." Natasha winked at her. Her parents didn't let her drink often, but they didn't have to know that.

"We used to get a small glass of wine with dinner. It was easier to get than grapes but had the same nutrients."

Tony scoffed. "No way. No responsible adult would do that."

"And how old were you when you had your first drink Tony, hm?" Natasha probed.

That shut him up. They all laughed at his misforune.

"Alright guys. You ready for the main event?" Tony asked. Steve and Bruce cheered. Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know what they meant.

She blindly followed them up to the roof, where a few blankets were laid out. They settled down the spread, looking up at the sky. Natasha wrapped her arm around Wanda, who curled into her side.

Tony grinned as he clicked a button on a remote. Wanda jumped, her hands flying to cover her ears as a loud boom practically shook the compound. She looked around wildly for the source. An explosion of red suddenly overtook the sky.

No one else seemed to be panicking. They just stared up at the sky. Wanda looked around in horror as she jumped to her feet. Natasha looked over to her, confused, then she saw Wanda's face. Wanda darted inside. There was a bomb. There was another loud boom. More. There were more bombs. Then another. Then two at once. She darted down the stairs, hands clamped over her ears as her breathing sped up.

"Damnit," Natasha said to herself aloud. "Did anyone tell her about the fireworks?"

They looked at each other guiltily as they realized poor Wanda had had no idea.

Natasha went down the stairs, rapidly looking for Wanda. She found her in the common room, pacing wildly back and forth, hyperventilating. Her hands were still over her ears and here eyes were tightly shut.

Natasha was quick to stride over to Wanda and catch her arms. She gently rubbed her hands up and down soothingly. Wanda went to turn around again, but Natasha firmly held her in place.

"Calm down sweetie," Natasha said as she looked into Wanda's panicked eyes. She continued to stroke her arms for another few minutes before Wanda finally released her hands from her ears, slowly, shakily.

"Why are there bombs, Tasha? Who's setting them off?"

Natasha smiled sadly at her. She tucked a piece of hair behind Wanda's ear. "There are no bombs, Wands. Those are fireworks. Someone thought it would be a good idea to fill tubes with colored powder and hook it up to explosives. Then they explode in the sky and burst into color."

Wanda took a deep, calming breath. She nodded to reassure herself. Then she looked up at Natasha. "Why- why would anyone want that?"

Natasha laughed softly. "I don't know. A lot of people don't like the noise. Sam has earplugs in right now. He doesn't like them either. It reminds him of gunfire."

Wanda nodded. She leaned into Natasha's chest, who wrapped her arms tightly around Wanda. She held Wanda for a few minutes, the books sounding more distant.

"You know," Natasha told her, "the noise is terrible, but the fireworks can be really pretty. Do you want to try some earplugs and go back up?"

Wanda thought it over and nodded. She really did want to be around the team.

They made their way back up to the roof and settled down with the rest of the team. Wanda could still hear the loud booms, but they were far more muffled. Natasha kept her arm wrapped tightly around her, reminding her that she was safe. Even with everything exploding around her. She wasn't alone this time.

Finally, the fireworks ended. Some of the Avengers whooped and cheered, clapping at the show. Wanda breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad it was finally over. She didn't find much beauty in the fireworks.

They cut Steve's cake and gave him his card. He thanked everyone for their kind words, as well as the gift card for Target Tony had put in there.

Eventually, the party was over. They threw away the trash and decided the rest of it could all be cleaned up tomorrow before heading up to bed.

Natasha walked with Wanda back inside. "So what did you think of your first fourth?"

Wanda scrunched up her nose. "It is not my favorite holiday. I'm not sure I understand how food and color bombs represent the independence of a country."

Natasha laughed. "That's a good point, Wanda. Maybe next year we can do something on our own."

Wanda looked up at her hopefully. "Yeah?"

Natasha smiled. "Yeah."

Wanda fell asleep that night not dreaming of the bombs exploding in the sky, but of the potential that next year's fourth held.


	3. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: reference to self harm

Wanda was excited when Steve announced the team was taking a trip to an island off the coast of Brazil. Tony had decided that everyone needed a break. They had been working hard lately tracking and taking down small Hydra bases that kept popping up everywhere. It had been a tiring few weeks for them all.

So he had decided that he needed a vacation. He just happened to own a small, private island off the coast of Salvador. The plan was to go stay in one of the private villas there for a week. There were enough house-sized villas for all of them to have their own building, but some of them decided to buddy up anyway.

Tony decided to bring Peter along for the trip, as it was his February break. They were set to share a building. Natasha and Wanda were sharing another. Clint was going to bring Laura with him, so they could stay in the third. Bruce, Steve, and Sam opted for their own buildings.

They were all currently packing for the trip in their rooms. Sam was currently finding the most ridiculous Hawaiian shirts he could in his closet and showing them to Steve.

"Why do you have all those anyway, Sam? Who needs that many Hawaiian shirts?" Clint called from his room.

Sam grinned. "Hey man, you don't know what I do in my free time."

Natasha shook her head as she finished stuffing her duffel bag. She went in to Wanda's room to check on her progress.

Wanda was almost done stuffing her own duffel bag. Most of it was black. Natasha couldn't say anything, though. Her stuff was too.

But she did notice that Wanda had mostly leggings, jeans, and long sleeve shirts. She raised her eyebrows slightly at Wanda's choices.

"You know it's gonna be over 90 degrees every day there, right? Hotter in the sun."

Wanda didn't look up. She simply nodded. "I know. I get cold easily." She slowly looked to Natasha, silently begging her not to say anything.

Natasha debated asking why Wanda wouldn't wear shorts or tank tops, but decided against it. "You have a bathing suit? We'll be right on the beach."

Wanda visibly relaxed. She nodded. She did have her single black bikini that Natasha had bought for her. She had never worn it and didn't plan to in the next week.

Natasha left the room. If it came down to it, Wanda could always wear some of her clothing.

Tony picked up Peter from his Aunt May's and brought him back to the coumpound. Peter had a suitcase ready and looked around excitedly. "Hi Mr. Rogers. Hey Mr. Banner. I'm so pumped for a week in Brazil," he babbled excitedly.

"We told you Peter," Steve chastised softly as they boarded the jet. "You can just call us Steve and Bruce."

It was a long flight to Brazil. They spent most of it chatting excitedly, and the other fourth making fun of Clint's Hawaiian shirt.

"It's my vacation shirt!" Clint argued adamantly. "It's... festive."

"No Legalos, festive is for Christmas," Tony said.

Laura looked at Clint lovingly. "Well, I love your shirt." They shared a quick peck on the lips.

A minute passed before Natasha spoke. "You gave him that shirt, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Laura and Clint blushed deeply as everyone else burst into laughter.

They touched down on the island after a fifteen hour flight. It was beautiful and tropical. Palm trees leaned lazily over white sand beaches. Colorful little houses dotted the beach.

"Those are my villas," Tony announced. "I know they're small," everyone rolled their eyes, "but they'll do for a week."

They all settled into the villas. They took their time to unpack into the dresser drawers. Wanda and Natasha were probably the lightest packers of the bunch. They were done first.

Natasha changed into Jean shorts and a tank top. "Wanna go walk around the island? I think it's gonna be awhile before everyone else is done unpacking."

Wanda nodded. "You gonna change first? It's 95 out."

Wanda looked down at herself. She was wearing a thin, red, long sleeve top along with black leggings. "I'll be fine." To her credit, she did wear flip flops.

Her and Natasha took their time walking around the island. There was a boardwalk going around the entire island. They took their time walking, taking in the lovely scenery.

"So," Natasha began, finally bringing up the elephant. "Why won't you wear shorts or short sleeves."

Wanda stayed quiet, trying to come up with an answer to her question that could be said in words. Natasha didn't interrupt her thinking.

"You have read of what Hydra did to me, yes?" She began. Natasha nodded. She had a bad feeling.

Wanda pursed her lips, her eyes focusing on the boards beneath their feet. "They did many things not in my file. Many of the experiments left marks. So did many of the punishments."

Ah. Natasha saw where this was going, but she let Wanda finish her story.

"I am not proud of the marks that run all over me and I would rather others do not see them. I do not need their pity," then more quietly, "I would rather not have to look at myself, either."

Natasha wrapped her arm around Wanda's shoulders. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Wanda. Maybe I can show you that this week."

By the time they got back to their villa, both of them were sweating. Wanda's shirt was practically soaked through. She wouldn't say it (she never complained) but she was very much overheated.

Thankfully, the villas had air conditioning. Wanda showered before they met up with the rest of the team that night for dinner. Although it was dark, it was still hot.

"Geez kid, aren't you sweating?" Steve asked as he sat down at the table. They were all gathering in Tony and Peter's villa for pizza.

Wanda shrugged. "I get very cold easily. It can be chilly with the air conditioning."

Peter stared at her. "Yeah, maybe, but it's like, 100 degrees out there," he said.

Wanda just shrugged and looked down at the table. Natasha changed the subject.

The next day, they were supposed to go to the beach. Wanda really didn't want to go. Natasha crossed her arms as she saw Wanda digging through her duffel.

"You can't wear jeans or leggings to the beach, Wanda."

Natasha met Wanda's eyes. She could tell the girl was nervous.

Natasha hesitated for a moment before turning around. "See this?" She said, pointing to her exposed shoulder. "Bullet wound. Got it fighting Bucky."

She turned back around and lifted up her tank top to reveal a criss cross of scar tissue. "From a knife fight in the Red Room."

She pointed to a spot on her calf. "Stab wound. That one was kinda random, actually. Russia can be a dangerous place."

She showed Wanda a few more bullet and knife scars she sad before sitting down on the edge of the twin bed across from her.

"You don't have to be nervous Wanda," Natasha said, softening her voice. "No one here will judge you and I guarantee most of the people here have scars from bullets and knives all over them, too."

Wanda still wasn't sold. She really didn't want to show anyone her scars yet. She bit her lip, contemplating her options.

"Can I borrow a pair of shorts?"

She knew Natasha wanted her to put on her bathing suit, but she just wasn't ready. Natasha stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Can I give you a tank top too?"

Wanda hesitated, then agreed. It was very hot out.

Natasha looked up when Wanda exited the bathroom. She had her arms wrapped around herself and had grown a full shade paler. She was chewing on her bottom lip.

Natasha saw the scars running like vines from Wanda's shoulders down beneath the tank top. She had large cuts on her leg, that had obviously been poorly and sloppily stitched up. Her eyes continued to roam Wanda's body, while she watched Natasha nervously for a reaction. Wanda leaned over to grab her water bottle and Natasha noticed a dark scar in the skin of her shoulder.

HS, 2/20

Those Hydra soldiers had burned those symbols into her skin. Natasha swallowed down her rage. Wanda was nervous enough as it was. But then Wanda lifted the water bottle to her lips and Natasha noticed her tender wrists.

Far too many thin, neat lines ran across them on both arms. They looked far more recent than the others.

"How long ago are the ones on your wrists from?" Natasha asked coolly. Wanda choked on her water.

She didn't turn back towards Natasha. "A few months, I think."

A few months. She had done those herself while she was living at the compound. Natasha kicked herself. How had she not noticed? When Wanda had first arrived, they had all agreed to give her space. They said it was to let her grieve, but they really just needed time to get over what she had done to them, despite the reasoning behind it. Apparently, they had taken far too long to come to terms.

Natasha gave her a curt nod and got off the bed. "Okay. Ready for the beach?"

Wanda was very glad Natasha did not linger on the topic. At the beach, Peter, Clint, and Tony were already in the water, splashing each other aggressively while Laura watched on from the sand.

She smiled when they walked over. She didn't even give Wanda a once over. She acted like nothing was wrong.

"Hey ladies," she said casually. "I could really use some more estrogen out here. I feel like I'm stuck babysitting." Wanda giggled as she sat down next to Laura under her beach umbrella. She handed her and Natasha each a towel, which they rolled out and then lay down on.

Soon enough, the others came out to join them. Sam ran into the water with no hesitation, practically diving in. Steve and Bruce settled down on the sand near them.

Wanda spent most of the day staring out at the horizon. She wondered how far the water went on for. What did the other side touch? She had learned very little about geopraphy, but knew Africa was on the other side of the ocean. Did that mean the next spot of land was Africa. She was absolutely mesmerized.

Bruce and Natasha talked casually for most of the day. Laura alternated between reading and watching the man children play in the water. Steve couldn't hold himself back and joined the others in the water.

Wanda's head snapped up as she heard her name. She looked over, wide eyed, at Bruce and Natasha. "Sorry?"

Bruce smiled at her kindly. "I asked if you'd ever seen the ocean before."

Wanda turned her head back to the sprawling waters in front of her, shaking her head slowly. "Sokovia is, was, a landlocked country. I have never seen water this big."

Laura had brought a cooler of sandwiches, which everyone had dug into at lunchtime. The second half of the day was spent much like the first. Wanda did not find herself growing bored of staring at the endless blue. They stayed on the beach until the sun set along the horizon. Wanda was fascinated, watching it seemingly disappear behind the line where the water converged with the sky.

As they went back to their villas to shower and change before dinner, Wanda noticed that Natasha was right. Steve had quite a few scars across his chest and back. Tony had just the one huge one in his chest. Clint, though, looked like his skin was more rough than smooth. She figured those must have been the results of arrows.

That night, Laura made everyone pasta and chicken. They bid each other a goodnight before heading back to their own spaces for bed.

The next two days went by much like the first. They spent most of their time at the beach. Wanda even wanded in to her ankles one day. The group decided to go for a walk around the island, much like the one she and Natasha had taken on the first day. Although she was grateful Natasha was coaching her accepting her scars, she was also grateful for the opportunity to wear leggings again, although she did wear a short sleeve tee.

Friday finally came around. The group wanted to spend their last full day on the beach. They all packed snacks and drinks to bring with them, making a potluck of sorts. Steve and Sam went out and collected rocks and wood for a fire pit the night before. That morning, they finished setting it up.

"You should go in the water today," Natasha commented to Wanda casually as they were getting ready. "There's nothing quite like the ocean. I'm going to go in today. I can't remember the last time I did."

Wanda knew this would come up eventually. She knew it was not practical to go in the water in shorts and a tank top. She would finally have to pull out her bikini.

"How far in?" Wanda asked, trying to find a loop hole.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe waist?" Wanda felt her heart sinking. "I don't like to be too deep in the ocean. You don't really know what's swimming around down there."

Wamda nodded numbly. "So I suppose it would be most practical if I wore my bathing suit?"

Natasha looked up at her. "Yes, that would be ideal." The apprehension was written all over Wanda's face. "Look, you can wear a shirt over it if you want to the beach, but you'll be better in the water in just a bathing suit." Natasha felt bad at how nervous she still looked.

She stepped forwards and gently took hold of Wanda's biceps. "Or you don't have to go in the water at all," she offered. "You can sit on the beach. I can sit with you and we can watch the others do stupid things in the water. Would you prefer that?"

Wanda felt bad. She knew that Natasha really wanted to go in the water and didn't want to limit her by making her stay on the beach.

"No," Wanda decided. "I will go in the water."

Natasha relaxed her shoulders and smiled. "Good. Really, Wanda, I promise you none of them are even gonna bat an eyelash. And if they do, I'll kill them and get rid of the body. Okay?"

Wanda smiled wanly at nodded. She went to the bathroom and changed into her bikini.

She took a minute to look at herself in the mirror. She wanted to look away. Her ribs protruded from her chest, far more pronounced than she knew they should be. A deep "Y" shaped scar went from her shoulders down to just above her her navel. but the pattern was ruined by all the other hashes across her stomach. She could see her hip bones sticking out, too. She couldn't stand to look at herself for another moment and could feel herself tearing up.

She went back into their room where Natasha was already changed. She looked Wanda up and down when she came in. When her eyes landed on Wanda's face, her heart clenched.

Natasha walked up to her and cupped her cheeks with her hands. "Wanda," she began, "listen to me. It doesn't matter what that mirror shows or what's on your skin. I know you've been through a lot and I'm not going to lie, it shows." She paused to whisk away a stray tear that ran down Wanda's cheek with her thumb. "But you're so pretty Wanda.” She ran her fingers through a loose curl of her long brunette locks lovingly. “And you're nice, and clever, and a really great kid."

Wanda sniffled and leaned into her touch. "You mean it?"

Natasha smiled lightly, relieved. "Every word sweetheart. Are you okay?" Wanda nodded as she wiped away another tear. Natasha dropped her hands from Wanda's face. As the two women walked out the door, Natasha made one final comment.

"Oh, one thing," Natasha said to her. Wanda froze. It seemed serious. "Laura's gonna try to make you eat at least one extra dessert today. Don't let it hurt your feelings, okay?" Wanda giggled and nodded, relieved. They made their way out to the beach, where everyone else was already in the water.

Natasha had been right. No one even looked at her funny as they made their way down to the water. Steve grinned when he saw them. "Hey ladies, join us."

They waded into the water and joined the rest of the group. Wanda's self consciousness slowly faded as they day went on. She noticed Bruce had a similar "Y" shape cut into his front and that even Laura had some deep scars on her. She enjoyed walking around the water with her teammates. Peter even found a starfish.

Natasha had been right. Laura tried to give Wanda extra chips and soda at lunch, which she politely declined. Several times.

Wanda found herself enjoying the water. She hadn't told any of them that she did not know how to swim (they didn't ask). She didn't have to though, as they stayed in relatively shallow water.

She was mid conversation with Laura when she felt water hit her back. She whirled around and saw Clint looking at her guiltily. "Sorry kiddo, I was aiming for my lovely wife over there."

Laura scoffed indignantly before hurling water his way. Within 10 minutes, everyone was involved. As long as the water didn't rise over her head, Wanda was fine. She had fun splashing around in the water. Then Peter and Tony decided to team up on her. They sent a wave her way that went up to her chest and splashed into her hair. She shrieked and turned towards them. They burst out laughing and high fived.

Natasha shook her head knowingly. "You shouldn't have done that boys."

They looked at her questioningly before looking behind them. There, a growing bubble of water encased with red was growing.

"Swim for it Peter!" Tony said dramatically, wading as fast as he could towards the shore.

"You got it Mr. Stark," Peter replied, following his lead.

But there was no escape. Wanda levitated the bubble until it was over their heads. They were very close to the beach when they noticed it was getting dark. They looked up and saw the mass of water floating there.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah Pete?"

"We shouldn't have splashed her."

Wanda let the bubble drop, soaking Peter and Tony from head to toe. They both kept their eyes closed and stayed still as the others burst out laughing. They laughed even harder when Tony pulled a piece of seaweed off his shoulder.

Wanda had won the water battle. They made their way back to the shore for dinner. Afterwards, Steve and Sam worked on starting a fire while everyone else watched the sun set.

Qanda leaned her head on Natasha's shoulder as the sky turned a deep shade of purple. Their last day was almost over. She was so glad she got to spend the last week with some of her favorite people. They roasted marshmallows and made s'mores that night. Who needed ghost stories when they led the lives they did? They sat around the campfire, recounting particularly dangerous or amusing stories.

Laura nudged Wanda in the middle of Sam's story. "Can I get you another s'more?" She asked quietly. Wanda smiled and shook her head. "No thank you Laura."

"Sorry kid," Clint said, leaning around Laura to address Wanda. "She does this whenever one of the kids looks an ounce too skinny." He kissed Laura's temple affectionately before they settled back to listen.

By eleven that night, the stories were still going strong. Natasha had her arm wrapped around Wanda, whose head was resting on Natasha's shoulder. She was still only in her black bikini, but she wasn't nearly as bothered as she had been that morning. Natasha always knew just what to say to coax her out of her shell.

She turned her head so she was looking up at Natasha. She turned and looked down at Wanda. "Thanks for everything Tasha," she said softly.

Natasha smiled tenderly and brushed a stray piece of hair behind Wanda's ear. "I'll always be here for you, Wanda. I love you."

Wanda smiled, really smiled, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep that night tucked safely into the side of her favorite person while listening to Steve tell them all about his high school prom. The week had gone so much better than she had expected. As she felt the darkness pulling her under, she smiled. She would always be able to take on whatever came at her with Natasha by her side.


	4. Nightmare

She was having dinner with her parents and brother. Her mom had made paprikash and naan. Her dad walked in and placed a kiss on her mom's cheek, finally home after a long day at work. Wanda set the table while Pietro kept grabbing her hair.

"Stop it!" She yelled, whirling around and hitting his hand away. He just grinned and did it again.

"Children, get along please," their mother said in a no nonsense voice. They stared each other down for a minute.

"Sorry mom," they chorused.

They all settled down at the table and dug in.

"Hey dad, can you pass the bread?" She asked. But when she looked up her dad's skin was an ashen gray and he was missing an arm and a chunk of his head.

"Dad!" She yelled, hopping up from her chair.

"Mom, help him!" But her mom wasn't faring any better. Wanda watched in horror as her mother's head slid off her shoulders. She screamed. Then a hole blew in the floor and swallowed her parents. She felt Pietro's arms around her waist as he pulled them under their bed. She turned to look at him for comfort, but screamed again. He was ridden with bullet holes, death in his eyes.

"You did not see that coming, sister. You killed me."

Wanda screamed and screamed. She struggled to get away from him and fell down the hole. She woke up on the destroyed land mass that was once Sokovia. All the Avengers were dead at her feet. She had killed them all.

Natasha woke up to the sound of screaming. She rolled over and rubbed her bleary eyes. 2:17am. She heard more screaming. Wanda. The poor girl had nightmares quite often. Natasha swung her feet over the edge of her bed and padded down the hallway.

She rapped her knuckles against Wanda's door. She wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer. She hesitantly pushed open the door, unsurprised to see her belongings floating around her room.

Wanda's combat boots floated peacefully by he as she shut the door behind her. It was quiet a sight, her belongings wrapped in scarlet floating through her room.

The globe on her desk was orbiting around an unknown force. Natasha looked over at Wanda, who screamed again. "Mom? Dad?" The girl started thrashing.

Natasha carefully made her way over to the bed, ducking a scarlet lined pillow that was levitating in the air. She lowered herself onto the edge of Wanda's mattress. The distress was written all over her face.

Natasha waited for a minute, contemplating her next move. Depending on what this one was about, it would have been a terrible idea to touch Wanda.

"No! No, no, no, I didn't mean to! Brother?"

Oh. This was a pretty common one. Natasha firmly grasped Wanda's shoulder.

"No! I'm sorry! I, don't leave! I'm so sorry Clint."

That was new to her. They were in her nightmare. Natasha shook Wanda, hoping to pull her out of whatever hell she was stuck in.

"Wake up Wanda," she said loudly. She knew Wanda could be a pretty deep sleeper.

"No! No, please don't, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

Natasha froze and removed her hand from Wanda's shoulder. The girl was trembling in her sleep.

Wanda started whining and rolling away from Natasha, curling into a ball. A tear slid down her cheek. Oh, Wanda.

Natasha moved closer and gently placed her hands on Wanda again. She rubbed her side firmly.

"Come on Wanda. Wake up. It's over. You're safe now."

It took another few seconds of Natasha shaking and rubbing Wanda before she woke up.

Wanda gasped as her eyes shot open. Everything in the room dropped to the ground. She jumped at the noise, looking around. She finally met Natasha's eyes.

Natasha didn't hesitate to pull Wanda into her chest. She was still trembling badly. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she clung to Natasha for dear life.

Natasha rubbed slow circles on her back and rested her chin on Wanda's head. She knew Wanda wasn't ready to talk yet. Clearly, she was still seeing the flashbacks.

It took a good ten minutes for Wanda to stop shaking, but she made no move to release Natasha. She didn't mind. She held Wanda tightly, wishing that if she held on tight enough, she could keep her from ever being haunted by her own mind again.

When Natasha heard Wanda's breathing finally become less rapid, she knew it was time to talk. She gently pushed Wanda away from her, but kept her at arm's length.

Wanda took a heavy breath and let it out. "I'm sorry for waking you up, Natasha."

Natasha shook her head. "Don't apologize for things you have no control over Wanda. You know you could never bother me."

Wanda nodded and kept her eyes downcast on her comforter, toying with a loose thread. She knew Natasha wanted her to talk.

"I heard some of it," Natasha began, when it became evident Wanda wasn't going to talk. "Your parents and brother?" Wanda nodded.

"Then what happened? You said Clint."

Wanda took a moment, considering how much she really wanted to tell Natasha. She looked into her eyes and saw nothing but concern. Natasha wasn't going to judge her for whatever she said.

"I, uh, I killed the Avengers," Wanda said, her eyes drifting back to her comforter. "And my brother." Wanda debated going on, but there was too much going on inside her head. She couldn't keep it all in. It hurt. She took a shaky breath, unsuccessfully trying to keep her tears at bay. "And then they got a hold of me again. But I still wasn't the one with the power. They, uh, wanted me to do more. But I don't want to do more."

Natasha reached over to wipe away some of the tears that had began to run down Wanda's face.

"Who is they?"

"Hydra. Strucker."

Natasha nodded. She wasn't terribly surprised.

"Well," Natasha said, slinging her arm around Wanda's shoulders and pulling her close. "None of that happened. And now you're here. With me. In your room. Safe."

Wanda shook her head. "But it did. I was the one who killed my brother, no?"

Natasha looked at her for a moment. She knew the girl held onto a lot of guilt, but this was news to her. "No," she said sadly.

Wanda rested her head against Natasha's shoulder and looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed. She looked confused. "It was all my fault that he died, Tasha. We never should have gone to Ultron in the first place. I was the one who told him that we needed a real source of food and to stop stealing it. He did it just for me." She trailed off, eyes looking far away.

Natasha hadn't known that. She knew the kids were in orphanages after their parents died before just living on the streets. She hadn't realized that they went to Ultron with more than one motive.

"It's not your fault," she told Wanda firmly. "Nothing that happened was your fault. He chose to fight with us and save Clint and that kid. That's not on you."

Wanda rested her head against Natasha's shoulder. Natasha knew she didn't believe her. She hadn't really expected her to.

They sat in silence for another few minutes, both contemplating their conversation. Natasha knew that guilt wasn't something that would be eased by others; one had to forgive themself. She knew Wanda would probably never reach that point, but she would fight like hell to make sure she got close.

Natasha glanced over at the clock. It was approaching 3.

"Do you think you can try to get back to sleep?" She asked Wanda. She didn't look too sure. She shook her head softly, worrying her lip between her bottom teeth.

That's what Natasha had expected. "That's fine. I don't know if I can either. Let's watch some tv, okay?"

Natasha and Wanda curled up and Wanda levitated a blanket over them. The rest of the items scattered across her floor could wait until morning.

Natasha turned on some mindless Netflix show that neither of them really watched. She was glad to feel Wanda nodding off against her after about twenty minutes. There was no way she would let herself go to sleep if she knew Wanda couldn't. Natasha let herself lay back against the pillows, the tv running in the background as they both drifted off.


	5. The Fire

Tony was hesitant to let Wanda live in the Avengers tower. As much as they didn't want to admit it, he wasn't the only one. They knew she was a kid, rationally. What she had done had been for what she had believed were good reasons. So yeah, they weren't overly comfortable with Wanda, and she wasn't terribly comfortable around them.

So they didn't really put up much of a fight when Wanda said she couldn't live in the tower. No one gave a second thought to where she would live. Tony insisted on giving her a salary, as all of the Avengers received. It was a mere $500 a month.

To be fair, Wanda did spend a lot of time at the compound. She arrived at 5 am every morning to begin training before eating breakfast with the team. She usually left around 6 in the evening before the team ate dinner together. They would not say it, but they all felt more at ease after she left. Wanda could feel the palpable tension when she was around. None of them were openly rude to her, per se. They were all cordial, nothing less, nothing more. None of the Avengers gave Wanda a second thought when they went to bed at night.

With only $500 a month, Wanda had no hope of being able to afford an apartment. She used her $500 sparingly, for food and feminine products, clothes only when she absolutely needed them. She had lived on the streets on Sokovia and from what she could tell, New York was much nicer.

The city was more modern and the people were not nearly as creepy. No one tried to steal her shoes and most didn't even give her a second look. She eventually found a tenant who allowed her to stay in the basement of the building for $400 a month under the table. She was glad for the shelter, as winter was fast approaching. She was used to the cold, but sleeping outside at night had become more of a hazard as street plows dominated the roads.

The basement was dark and dingy. There was a single light bulb with a cord on it hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. She had used some of her paycheck to buy a blanket and pillow. She slept on the concrete floors, but she didn't mind. She had dealt with much worse.

Every day, Wanda set out for the compound promptly at 4 am. She needed to walk there. It wasn't like she had the money to use any sort of transportation. She left her clothing stacked neatly aside her folded blanket and pillow, beside the plastic grocery bag that contained the rest of her belongings.

She never complained at the compound. She never asked Stark for more money or to stay for dinner. She left promptly when she was no longer needed or wanted. She usually made it back to the basement by 7, after stopping for fast food or at the local shelter for dinner. She was always polite to the people there. They were kind to her too, as they did not know her true identity.

Wanda woke up one night at 3 in the morning to the sound of blaring alarms. She got out of bed and turned on her light. The smoke alarms. She didn't see any immediate danger. How could her concrete room possibly catch on fire? She debated just going back to bed. She knew she likely wasn't in imminent danger and had gotten back to her basement well past midnight. It had been a late night of training and she hadn't had time to stop for dinner.

Her choice was made for her when a piece of the ceiling fell in, ablaze. She just stared at it dumbly. It wouldn't spread; there was nothing for it to catch, but she knew she should evacuate. Smoke was rapidly filling up the room, suffocating her. She grabbed two very old and crinkled pictures from her grocery bag before heading up the stairs.

The fire department was already there. So were the EMTs. She was coughing hard by the time she got up the staircase.

People were screaming and crying in the street. She didn't want to intrude. She could see a man with burns on his legs lying on a stretcher. There were obviously people in worse shape than hers. She tried to stifle her coughs as she lowered herself to the curb and watched the building burn.

Someone finally heard her coughing and came over to her. They looked in her throat before giving her a mask attached to a canteen of oxygen and a shock blanket. The woman wrapped it snugly around her shoulder before securing the mask on her face and rushing off to control the triage.

By five, the fire was nowhere near under control. The top floor of the building had collapsed in on itself. The fourth looked like it was soon to go. She knew the basement was probably compromised. She just sat silently on the curb, watching as her only shelter turned to ash.

Steve sighed as watched the news. Most of them were already up. They were watching the live coverage of a bad fire in an old building that had been raging for over three hours. It was a horrid sight.

"Where's the kid?" Tony asked, walking in. "We were supposed to start training at 6:30 this morning."

Wanda was nowhere to be seen. She had never been late in her nine months of being an Avenger. This was the first time. She always arrived promptly at 5 am. She was now over an hour and a half late.

Silence enveloped the room as they watched the fourth floor of the building collapse and the firefighters rapidly work to put out the burning chunks that fell to the ground, trying to contain it.

"This isn't like her," Steve commented. "I don't think she's ever been let before. Can someone call her?"

They all waited a moment, thinking. "I don't have her number," Steve added.

"Me neither," said Clint. Everyone had the same answer.

Natasha tilted her head to the side. "I don't think she has a phone."

Oh. Well that wasn't good. What if she ever needed to contact them? What if they needed to contact her? They needed to fix that.

"Well is there any way we can track her?" Bruce asked. It wasn't a great solution, but it was the only one they had.

Tony nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I can. I can track her energy even when she's not using it. It's off the charts for a normal person."

About ten minutes later, they had a location. The room fell into another heavy silence as they realized where she was. Her dot was essentially on top of the burning building.

"But that's in the bad part of town over a mile away," Steve said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why would she be there?"

Then the dots started clicking. None of them actually had any clue where Wanda lived. They didn't know where she went each night or what she did in those few hours she wasn't at the tower.

"She probably lives there," Natasha said in a low voice. Their stomachs dropped.

"Well why didn't she come here then?" Tony said.

Clint threw him a dirty look. "Her building is on fire, Tony. Give her a break."

Natasha got off the couch and headed for the door, grabbing a set of keys.

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked.

"To pick her up," Natasha said simply. She felt beyond guilty. It was the least she could do.

Natasha was in her long overcoat with thick leggings. It was chilly, even for a New York morning. There was too large a crowd for her to get her to park close to the building. The police had closed off 5 blocks out. She parked and ducked under a piece of tape, going unnoticed by the cops.

She could feel the heat from two blocks out. The smoke was blocking out the sun. Natasha pushed her way around the crying people embracing one another, walking around quickly. She was a woman on a mission.

Finally she saw the building. It was clear to her it was all going down. The building was more fire than building. It was down to a single floor, soaked wood surrounding it. Natasha felt her stomach twist at the crying families and the once full building. She had seen a lot of trauma, but fires were a different breed.

Her eyes finally fell on her. Wanda was sitting on the steps of a building across the street. She was holding a shock blanket around her shoulders with one hand, an oxygen mask to her face with the other. She was in running shorts and a thin tank top. She was alone, face covered in ashes. She was simply watching the fire burn.

Natasha made her way over to Wanda. She didn't even seem to notice Natasha approach. Her eyes never left the fire.

Natasha slowly lowered onto the step next to Wanda. She seemed to be the only person alone. Natasha wondered if she even noticed.

Wanda eventually noticed her. Natasha recognized the look on her face. Surprise. "Natasha," she said slowly, drawing out her name. "You're here."

Natasha nodded at her. "Of course I am."

Wanda thought for a minute before it hit her. She pulled the oxygen mask away. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I'm late. I can make it up. I'm so sorry, I, what can I..."

"Wanda," Natasha cut her off, eyebrows furrowing. "Your building is burning down. You're excused. And we figured out you don't have any way to contact us. Relax."

Wanda sighed and replaced the oxygen mask. She nodded.

They watched until the fire was finally put out. There was nothing left of the building but the concrete base, filled with wet wood.

Natasha stayed sitting with Wanda as the Red Cross relief trucks slowly replaced the fire trucks and ambulances.

"Feeling better ma'am?" An EMT asked. Wanda nodded and handed over the oxygen and shock blanket. Natasha stared at the young man. It was below freezing out and Wanda was in shorts and a tank top. Did they really need the shock blanket back.

But Wanda didn't seem bothered. She didn't make any motion to stand up. Natasha took off her own thick jacket and wrapped it around Wanda's shoulders, who smiled at her in thanks.

"How are you ladies faring?" A middle aged woman with a clipboard asked, coming over to them. "I'm so sorry about your home. How can I help?"

Wanda smiled at her and shook her head slowly. "I will be okay miss. There are others who could use your resources better."

The woman looked surprised to say the least. "Oh, well, that's very kind of you. Others will very much appreciate it." And she walked away.

Really? The woman wasn't going to try to push any further? Natasha was thinking less and less of these acclaimed first responders.

Wadna got to her feet after the woman walked away. "If you do not mind, Natasha, I would like to check if any of my belongings are still good."

Natasha smiled at her sadly. "Wanda, the whole building is gone. I doubt there's anything left."

"Oh, I lived in the basement."

Oh. That's not what Natasha had expected her to say. She followed Wanda as she walked over to the pile of wood.

She watched from the edge of the concrete as Wanda dug around in the wood. She ducked beneath a pile and Wanda bit her lip, debating telling Wanda to not do that.

A few minutes later, Wanda resurfaced, holding a small plastic grocery bag. She gave Natasha a small smile. Natasha nodded at her. "What's in the bag?"

"My clothing. It is wet, but it will recover. I will jot have to buy new."

Natasha looked skeptically at the bag. "What about the rest?"

Wanda tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Natasha realized that was probably all she had. That was it. All of her clothing was in that bag. That was probably all she had, period.

"Anything else you want to look for down there?" Was there anything else to get?

Wanda shook her head. "I am sure the blanket and pillow are beyond help. That is alright." Then her face dropped. "But the cash is also gone."

Natasha watched Wanda's mind work, surely running through her options.

"You know, you can stay at the tower," Natasha said softly. Wanda's head snapped up.

"Oh, no, I couldn't."

Natasha nodded. "You absolutely could. How much has Stark been paying you?"

"500. He has been more than generous. I could not ask for any more."

Natasha offered Wanda her hand. "Wanda. There is absolutely enough room in the tower for you. You could have an entire floor for you if you wanted. I know we haven't been kind to you and for that, I'm really, really sorry." Wanda started shaking her head, but Natasha plowed on.

"You're a part of the team kid. There's no reason you shouldn't be living with us."

They had a stare down, both of them too stubborn to concede.

"You're coming back to the tower, Wanda." She gave Wanda a hand. She hesitantly took it and let Natasha lead her to the car.

Natasha's eyebrows shot up as she saw Wanda's back. She obviously had a bad burn.

"Wanda, do you know your back is burned?" Wanda froze and slowly touched the spot on her back. It was alarmingly large.

"Sorry. I forgot." And Wanda climbed into the car like nothing had happened.

They drove in silence back to the compound. Everyone was still lazing around the kitchen when they walked in.

"She's going to move in," Natasha said, crossing her arms, daring someone to challenge her.

They all nodded in silence. Natasha knew they had probably talked about the option while she was gone.

"How have you been getting here Wanda?" Steve asked softly. Well that wasn't the reaction they had been expecting. Natasha and Wanda exchanged a look.

"Sorry?" Wanda said.

"That building was almost two miles away from the coumpound, Wanda. Have you been walking here and back every day?" He looked very concerned.

Now everyone was staring at her. Wanda could feel her face burning red. "Uh, yes, but it is really no trouble."

"That must be, what, a 30 minute walk? 40?" Wanda nodded at Steve's estimate, looking intently at her feet.

"And dinner?" Clint asked. Wanda bit her lip. She was getting hot.

"I can afford dinner most nights," she said quietly.

"And the ones you can't?" Bruce asked. A heavy silence fell over the room as all the pieces fell into place. No wonder she was so tiny.

"I'm bumping up your paycheck," Tony said. "And you're moving in."

Well that just didn't make any sense to her. "Mr. stark, I am alright. I can find a place."

"No, kid. I'm sorry we've left you out for so long on your own. You need clothes and stuff anyway."

Wanda lifted the bag limply. "I have them with me, actually."

He stared at the bag then at her for a minute. "Okay, well, uh, you need more clothes and stuff than can fill a plastic grocery bag."

It took a lot of convincing, but Wanda finally agreed to move in. Natasha walked her to her room, which would be on the same floor as hers. Wanda put down the plastic bag on the bed and pulled two old pictures out of her pocket before sitting on the edge of the bed.

Natasha sat next to her, looking at the pictures. "Is that your family?" Wanda nodded, not looking up. Wanda was very little in both pictures. She couldn't be older than eight. Well, she supposed that was only ten years ago for her.

She took Wanda shopping for clothing and essentials that day instead of training. Then she finally convinced Wanda to let her look at her back.

Natasha rubbed some cream on the burn and bandaged the open parts. Natasha could tell from her back that she was bony.

"Tomorrow, we're gonna eat three full meals. Your training will be easier when you're not underweight. Nothing too strenuous until Dr. Cho says you're healthier."

Wanda didn't try to fight it. She nodded, resigned to her current situation. Natasha sighed internally. She knew Wanda couldn't possibly have had much sleep the previous night. She must have been exhausted.

"If you need anything, I'm just down the hall," she told Wanda, taping the final piece of gauze in place. "Promise you'll get me if you need something or something's wrong?"

Wanda nodded tiredly. Natasha didn't really believe she meant it until she heard a soft knock on her door around midnight that night.

She opened it and was surprised to see Wanda waiting anxiously in the hallway. "Uh," Wanda said awkwardly, gasping a bit, "I uh, can't stop coughing." She gasped again before letting out a sputtering cough.

Right. Natasha had totally forgot to check her lungs for smoke inhalation. She ran down to medical and grabbed a stethoscope and oxygen. She was back in her room within a minute.

Her lips were blue tinged by the time Natasha got back. She sat down on the bed and pressed the stethoscope to Wanda's back. Then she took her phone flashlight and looked down her throat. Wanda didn't protest.

"Alright Wanda," Natasha said. "You're gonna need to keep coughing up the rest of that. In between, use that oxygen. Also, you're staying in here tonight. I want to keep an eye on you."

Wanda was far too exhausted to argue. She lay back on Natasha's bed and curled into Natasha's side. It was easy for her to forget just how young Wanda was sometimes.

She kept an arm wrapped around Wanda's shoulders. She told herself it was to just make supre she was still breathing. She helped Wanda sit up periodically to expel the soot from her lungs and throat.

In just one day, Natasha had gone from going to bed without even knowing where Wanda was to not being able to imagine doing so without her by her side.


	6. Anorexia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big tw for eating disorder. Just skip this one if you feel like it might trigger you!!

Wanda was a thin girl. She always had been, whether it was her genetics or the fact that she had never had access to a sufficient amount of food before. Either way, she had stopped noticing it along ago. She avoided mirrors or looking at herself for too long. At Hydra, they didn't care in the slightest how much she weighed. No one had cared in a very long time.

So it was a big change when she joined the Avengers. She had to have a physical done by a very nervous, young intern resident from the medical wing. She couldn't remember the last time had seen a regular doctor.

Natasha went with her to the appointment. Wanda didn't like doctors. She had every reason to believe they were only out to hurt her. So Natasha sat with her, holding her hand, as they took her blood and other samples after her height and weight.

To her credit, the resident didn't say anything when Wanda's red slipped out of her hands during the exam. She just quickly took the last few vials of blood she needed before disappearing from the room.

Wanda let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she left the room. No more people poking at her with needles. She didn't drop Natasha's hand.

"Breathe kid," Natasha said gently, smirking at Wanda. She took a deep breath, trying to smile back.

"Can I go?"

"Don't you want to hear Dr. Cho give you the all clear?" Natasha asked.

Wanda really didnt. She didn't care what the doctor had to say; she just wanted to be out of the white and sterile room.

Natasha sighed. "Why don't we go sit in the waiting room? You don't have to stay here."

Wanda nodded and hopped down from the exam table. Natasha led her down the hall to the plush but plasticky chairs. At least the room had natural light pouring in from the windows.

Dr. Cho finally came to see them half an hour later. She sat down in a chair across from them, taking a few seconds to collect her thoughts.

"Wanda, when is the last time you saw a doctor for a regular physical?"

The question took her by surprise. She had to think hard.

"Um, I believe I was eight? I had pneumonia and my neighbor was a doctor."

Natasha and Cho exchanged a look. So she had never been to a doctor for a wellness check before.

"So that's about ten years?" Cho commented, trying to control her face. Wanda nodded.

"Alright. Well," she looked down at her clipboard, "your blood results do indicate quite a few deficiencies. Definitely anemic, which is common for teenaged girls, low iron, low protein, osteoporosis, low hemoglobin. When was the last time you've had your period?"

Wanda shook her head slowly. So never. Well that wasn't good.

"Alright, that's alright," Dr. Cho commented, making a note on her clipboard in Wanda's chart. "You're of average height for your age, which is good. Healthy. Your weight on the other hand is a little low."

Natasha had a sinking feeling she was being generous.

"I'm going to give you some supplements and I want to to eat three full meals a day for a while. Light training, if any, just until you gain some weight. Sound okay?" Wanda nodded. Cho did her best to give the girl a warm smile.

"Why don't you shower and we'll start dinner?" Natasha proposed. Wanda nodded and practically farted out of the room, glad to leave the medical wing.

"How bad is it?" Natasha asked Cho. The woman sighed and lowered her head into her hands for a few seconds.

"It's bad, Nat. I don't know how she's survived for so long like this."

"Can I ask for specifics?

Cho sighed, looking at the chart. "Technically, she's an adult. But you're also her guardian, so I'm going to share them anyways."

She flipped a page and started reading. "Wanda Maximoff. Age 18. 5 foot 3." She sighed. "85 pounds."

Natasha's stomach dropped with the temperature in the room. The two sat in silence for a minute.

"85 pounds?" She repeated dumbly. Cho nodded.

"You've gotta get that girl eating, Nat. I don't care if she has brownies and ice cream for every meal for the next year. She needs to eat something. Okay?"

Natasha nodded and left the room, unable to get rid of the pit in her stomach. She headed to their floor and took out a box of pasta. There was no point in her acting like everything was wrong. As far as they knew. Wanda had been like this her entire life.

Wanda came out of her room ten minutes later, long hair hanging in combed clumps. She gave Natasha a wan smile.

"Hey Wands. What do you want on your pasta?"

Wanda shrugged and pulled up a stool at the counter.

"How about cheese? Could you shred some?"

Wanda nodded and did as she was told. Natasha made the ziti and drained it. By six, they were all ready.

Natasha put a few scoops of pasta in two bowls, then added butter and cheese. She sat down across from Wanda at the table and slid her a bowl.

She watched discreetly as Wanda picked at her bowl. By the time Natasha finished her bowl, Wanda's didn't even look touched.

Natasha ate a second bowl of noodles, trying to eat slower. They made some small talk about what they could do that night, what to watch, all mundane topics. She watched as Wanda's bowl stayed more full than empty.

Eventually, Wanda put down her fork and looked up at Natasha. "Can I put the rest in a container?"

Natasha nodded. She didn't bother asking her to try to eat more. The last thing she wanted was Wanda pushing herself too far and getting sick.

Wanda did the dishes as Natasha put away their leftovers. "How about we make some cookies tonight? I haven't had chocolate chip cookies in forever. We could eat them and watch a movie."

Wanda shrugged noncommittally. "I'm not very hungry tonight." But she seemed to notice Natasha's tense demeanor. "But we could."

Natasha gave her a small smile. Wanda was too much of a people pleaser for her own good. There wasn't going to be an easy way around this. "That's okay. We can do it another night. Can we sit and talk for a minute though?" She saw Wanda's face drop and quickly added, "you're not in trouble. Don't worry."

Wanda finished the dishes and then joined Natasha in their living room, settling herself on the plush couch.

"Dr. Cho is worried about you," Natasha told her gently. She had never done this before. "You're very, very light for your age and height, sweetie. And you're not eating much."

Wanda's face contorted into absolute terror. She gulped. "I, I'm, I'm so sorry, Natasha," Natasha felt her heart dropping. She never called her Natasha anymore, unless she felt she was in trouble. "I, I didn't mean to. I can eat more pasta. I'm sorry, really, really..."

"No, no, Wanda. I'm not mad. I'm just," she trailed off. She sighed. "I've never been in this situation before. I have no idea how to help you."

Wanda still looked nervous. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry for being difficult." Natasha went to intervene, but Wanda plowed on. "I promise I'll try harder tomorrow. Do you mind if I go to bed now?"

It was only 6:30. Natasha stared her down for a few seconds. The girl looked close to tears. Natasha nodded and watched Wanda scurry off to her room.

She had absolutely no idea what to do. She had fought people, weapons, machines, aliens, and mind demons for years, but never eating disorders. She spent the next few hours scrolling through her laptop reading up on them. She found that most that occurred in teenagers had to do with body image issues. Did Wanda really think she was fat?

Natasha looked at the clock. It was past midnight. She closed her laptop and tried to get some sleep before getting up at 5 for a run.

When she got back, Wanda still wasn't up. She made some pancakes and set the plate on the counter. Wanda came out of her room as she flipped the last batch. She looked exhausted.

Natasha gave her a small smile. "Hey. Hungry?"

Wanda tried to look excited when she nodded, but Natasha could tell she was lying. She put two pancakes on a plate and handed it to Wanda before plating her own.

She watched Wanda pick at the pancakes and managing to finish one. Natasha was never one to beat around the bush. "Do you think you're fat Wanda?"

Her head snapped up. "What? No, I don't. Why? Should I?"

"No!" Natasha said loudly. Wanda flinched a little and Natasha sighed in frustration. "No," she said more quietly. "You absolutely should not. I just can't figure out why you won't eat."

She was silent for a few seconds, staring at the table. She had never been this far out of her very wide comfort zone.

"I'm not hungry," Wanda said quietly.

Natasha looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

Wanda bit her lip. "You, you asked why I'm not eating. I'm trying. I'm just really not hungry."

"Oh." Natasha was blown away. "That's it?" She laughed airily to herself.

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes? Sorry."

"No, no," Natasha said, smiling. Wanda couldn't tell what she was feeling. "No, it's just, you have no idea how many things the internet told me could be the cause of you not eating. I forgot that sometimes things are just simple."

Wanda relaxed. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Natasha laughed and stood up. She pulled Wanda into a hug. She could feel just how bony she was. "Stop apologizing, Wands. It's not your fault. We're gonna figure this out, okay? You're not gonna do this on your own."

Wanda relaxed into her, wrapping her arms around Natasha. "Thanks Tasha." Natasha smiled at the nickname. There she was.

Natasha eventually pulled back. "So if you're not gonna eat a lot, then we're gonna have to pack as much as we can into what you eat, okay? And we're gonna have to somehow work in all the supplements Dr. Cho gave me."

Wanda nodded. That seemed rational.

They both knew it wasn't going to be an overnight process. It was going to be a long time before Wanda would be considered textbook healthy.

That afternoon, they made cookies for lunch. They had fun, throwing flour at each other and laughing at how someone as stealthy and graceful as Natasha was so terrible at cracking eggs. Natasha added protein powder and extra chocolate chips to them, one for calories and one for nutrients. They both agreed the cookies were good. Wanda had two with a glass of milk.

At dinner that night, Natasha made Mac n cheese. She pushed Wanda too far to finish her bowl and ended up throwing up the whole meal. Natasha held her hair back and rubbed large circles on her back as she leaned over the toilet bowl.

"Sorry," Wanda got out meekly.

Natasha shook her head, offering her a cup of water. "I'm sorry for pushing you. You know your limits, not me. I'll try to stop that."

Wanda closed the toilet and flushed. "So you're not mad?"

Natasha gave her a small smile. "No Wanda, I'm not mad. We knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I'd say this is progress." Wanda gave her a look.

Natasha snorted. "Okay, maybe not progress, but at least change, right?"

Wanda bit back a smile and nodded.

They got into the routine of eating every meal together. Sometimes the others would join them. They had pizza nights, pasta nights, even ordered in Chinese and Thai food sometimes. Natasha would go for runs before Wanda got up and still maintained her typical training schedule, but added an hour to do yoga with Wanda. She knew how terrible it could feel when you're not allowed to do anything at all.

The process was slow and by no means perfect. There were a lot of tears and hard conversations. But Natasha never got mad and Wanda never stopped trying. The day finally came where Dr. Cho confirmed that she was indeed on her way to a healthy weight.

They hugged after they got out of the appointment, ecstatic. Wanda was grinning. Natasha was too.

"I'm so proud of you kiddo. We have to celebrate. Want to go to that dingy diner down town and get milkshakes and fries?"

Wanda giggled and nodded, bouncing a little on her toes. Then she threw her arms around Natasha again.

"Thank you so much Tasha. I couldn't have done this without you."

Natasha held her just a little bit tighter, her heart swelling painfully.

"You'll never have to Wanda."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anorexia is different than anorexia nervous, the eating disorder. Anorexic actually just means a loss of appetite!


	7. Widow Down

They knew it was a hard mission going in. All the Avengers were suited up. They were infiltrating a group of arms dealers with some kind of knock off superserum. It wouldn't have been as big an issue if all the people in the warehouse hadn't already taken the serum.

So yeah. People from a messed up experiment with high grade dangerous weapons. They knew it wasn't gonna be pretty.

Yet they headed in. Steve was too busy fighting his own nerves to give everyone a pep talk. Natasha was silent and tense in the pilot's seat. Clint was just as stoic beside her.

Tony was chatting away about some event for Stark Industries, rambling nervously. Rhodes stared at him dully. Bruce didn't bother to hide the fact he wasn't listening. Neither did Sam. Wanda had headphones in and was staring at a spot on the wall across from her. She was calmer than most of them. She had lost her fear of death a long time ago.

Just an hour in they were already far over their heads. They really wished Thor could've made the trip. Tony's suit was terribly dented and Sam was angry that Redwing was, well, dead. Steve had already taken a bullet and the others weren't far behind. Wanda was growing tired. Instead of going on the offensive, she found herself on the defensive, shielding her teammates from bullets and gunfire.

But they were getting more and more spread out and harder for her to protect. They had given up on trying to stop the people and were focused on destroying the weapons. Wanda was rapidly disassembling and breaking them with one hand and trying to control bullets with the other.

They had finally cleared the third floor of the factory. The battle was getting more condensed. That was where all the weapons had been. It had taken five hours, but all the crated weapons were destroyed. Now it was just the people and the weapons they had. There were only twenty of them.

It seemed like it was getting better. They were on the seventh hour. Reinforcements had arrived. The unconscious superhumans were being taken out to secured vehicles. In two hours? They had taken down three.

Wanda could feel the blood running down her lip and cheeks. She knew it was coming from her nose and ears. That hadn't happened in a very long time to her.

Wanda was on her way down when she saw a group of five. She picked them up and threw them through the floor, hard. Then her stomach dropped.

They had been after Natasha. She was lying on the ground, two bullets through her abdomen. She was breathing heavily. Far too heavily, and not in a tired way.

Wanda rushed over and fell to her knees. She leaned over her. "Tasha? Talk to me."

Natasha looked up at Wanda, heaving. She had too much blood spotting her body and too many bruises. She looked past Wanda. "Behind."

Wanda didn't even look away as she threw the man through the floor, creating a new hole. "How bad is it?"

Natasha closed her eyes and blew out a breath. "Bad."

Wanda felt all the breath leave her lungs. She had never heard Natasha admit just how injured she was before.

"I think I'm down for the fight," Natasha told her, eyes still closed.

Wanda was horrified. "Okay," she breathed. "What do I do?"

Natasha just hummed noncommittally and shrugged. "We got this far. Finish the mission."

Wanda nodded. There were more of them advancing back up to the second floor. "Stay awake, Tasha, okay? We're not leaving without you alive. Eyes open? Please?"

Natasha nodded and hummed again. Wanda was alarmed by the fact she didn't notice their enemies advancing.

Wanda got to her feet and spun around. She threw them through the floor again. She really hoped the others were holding it down on the first floor.

One by one, they incapacitated the men. She could tear Tony's beams shooting and could see Sam swooping around through the increasing number of holes in the floor.

She stood her ground in front of Natasha. She refused to leave her side. She really hoped they were nearing the end of the battle. She was exhausted. She didn't know how much longer she could hold it up.

Finally, the eleven hour mark hit. Wanda had never gone this long using her powers. Blood was pouring out of her nose and she could feel something coming out of her eyes. She had a feeling they weren't tears. Her legs felt like jelly and she was exhausted. If she was exhausted, she knew everyone else had to be too.

She felt herself thrown backwards suddenly. One of them had hit her with the gun beam. Two of them were steadily advancing, but Wanda couldn't get back to her feet. She looked over at Natasha, who by some miracle had her eyes still cracked open.

She couldn't let everyone down. They had gotten this far. The men were getting closer, guns ablazing. Wanda crawled over to Natasha and threw up one final shield, big enough to cover the both of them. The bullets bounced off of it and the men pounded their fists against it to no avail. 

Steve, Tony, a very exhausted human Bruce, and Sam were finishing up downstairs. Clint was outside with medical. He was down for the count.

"That was 18," Steve breathed, leaning over to catch his breath.

Sam cheered a little, but Bruce spoke up from his spot on the floor. "Weren't there 20?"

Tony, Steve, and Sam shot each other panicked looks.

"I haven't seen the witch or widow in a while," Tony said in a low voice. The three of them rushed up the stairs.

They saw the two men pounding away on a pulsating red bubble, their guns discarded beside them. They were yelling in frustration. Tony took his shot, knocking out both of them with two shots to the back. They dropped go the ground. Agents rushed the building and secured them.

Tony went out to follow up. Steve and Sam walked to the bubble, still fully intact. They could see Wanda and Natasha on the ground inside of it.

Steve knocked gently on the bubble. "Wanda, you can let it down. We got them."

It stayed up for another few seconds, before slowly releasing. Wanda was trembling, an alarming amount of blood on her face that had streamed out of her ears, eyes, and nose.

"Natasha needs help," Wanda croaked out as she got to her feet, with Sam's help.

Steve very gently swept Natasha into his arms. She moaned slightly at the movement. "Stay with us Nat," Steve said quietly, tenderly.

The four of them made their way out of the building. All the Avengers were exhausted and lying on the grass. They slowly sat up.

"She needs medical," Steve said. Thankfully, SHIELD had sent in extra agents to help with clean up. There was also a medical team.

"Oh God kid," Clint said, staring at Wanda in horror.

Wanda shook her head. She was freezing, shaking slightly. She had no idea if it was exhaustion, shock, or blood loss.

"It's not as bad as it looks," she said weakly. Steve gently lowered Natasha onto a waiting stretcher. Wanda didn't leave her side. Natasha stuck her hand out and Wanda grabbed it fiercely. She could feel Natasha squeeze her hand back.

They wheeled her quickly towards the awaiting ambulance, SHIELD EMTs rushing around Natasha to secure her. Wanda refused to release her hand.

They all started following Natasha's stretcher towards the awaiting ambulance.

"One person can fit," one of the EMTs said.

"Go," Steve said quietly, squeezing Wanda's shoulder. "We'll follow."

She looked towards the rest of the group. They nodded in agreement.

Wanda climbed in the ambulance and sat down on a stool thrust near her. She stayed still, allowing the EMTs to work on Natasha around her. It was a long ride. When they got to the hospital, they hes Wanda back.

"We're taking her into surgery," one of them told her, hands on Wanda's shoulders. Wanda looked past her.

"She needs the bullets removed and is going to get a transfusion. Let us help her." Wanda could hear herself breathing as she saw Natasha disappear around a corner.

"We'll keep you updated, but you need to get cleaned up. Every half hour, okay?"

Wanda nodded dully. She let herself be led to a stretcher. She was coming down from her high of adrenaline. She felt herself laid back and could hear people yelling. She didn't register them calling for blood and gauze and a shock blanket and warm fluids.

True to her word, someone came to update Wanda on Natasha's condition every half hour. Usually there was no update. Wanda knew that no news was good news.

The others eventually arrived. They were flooded by medical workers. Not one of them went untreated. After twelve long hours, Wanda was cleaned up and wrapped in the shock blanket, Clint was in a sling, and Tony and Bruce were on concussion protocol.

The nurse that came to update Wanda was finally smiling. "She's out," the woman said, grinning.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the group. "She's in the PACU. You can come visit one by one until she falls asleep again. I must warn you, most people are usually under again within three minutes. It's been more than twenty.

Of course it had been. She was a fighter.

"Go on Wanda," Clint said. She turned towards the group.

"She wouldn't be alive if you didn't shield her. Go ahead Wanda," Steve added.

She followed the nurse down the twisting hallways until they arrived at her room.

"Dont stress her out or tell her anything big right now," the nurse warned. "Press the call button if there's any problems, okay?" Wanda nodded and went into the room.

Natasha smiled at her lazily from bed. She looked awful.

"Hey," Wanda said gently, settling on the edge of her mattress.

"Hey yourself," Natasha responded hoarsely. Wanda lifted a cup of water to her lips and helped her drink a bit.

They looked at each other for a minute, relieved. Natasha stared moving over, face contorting in either pain or effort, maybe both. Wanda furrowed her eyebrows.

"You are not supposed to exert Natasha. How can I help? What do you need?"

Natasha sighed and finally settled down. She patted the now empty space next to her.

Wanda shook her head. "No. You need rest."

But Natasha just kept looking at her. Wanda slid under the covers next to her, laying her head on Natasha's uninjured shoulder.

"I'd be dead without you," Natasha said, voice a little stronger, but still quieter than normal. "Thank you."

Wanda shook her head. "No. It was a team effort. Everyone is here and very worried about you."

Natasha smirked and closed her eyes, resting her head on Wanda's. "Yeah, but you shielded us and kept me safe for hours. Thank you. I'm so proud of you milaya."

Wanda let herself smile. "I love you Tasha."

"I love you too Wanda."

When the nurse came back to check on Natasha, she walked right back out. Both of them were asleep, curled around one another.

Since it was a SHIELD facility, Natasha was the only current patient. The nurse updated them on the situation and they all relaxed.

"This is unconventional," the nurse prompted, "but to be frank, there's not a single one of you that shouldn't be admitted to a hospital right now. There are plenty of gurneys in the PACU. Why don't you all come lie down." They got to all be together as a team and the doctors and nurses would be able to watch them all in one area. It was a win-win.

They all tiredly agreed. The Avengers all went into the PACU and lay down on the gurneys. Natasha and Wanda looked so peaceful. Within ten minutes, the room was full of sleeping superheroes, enjoying a well deserved rest after a long day of saving the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Milaya = sweetheart in russian


	8. An Old Enemy

It was just a reconnaissance mission. Get in, get the info, get out. There was nothing to hack, so they assumed it must have been on paper files. They had to be careful. Paper files were the easiest to destroy.

Oh how wrong they had been. They had never even considered the possibility that the information was in someone's head. Just one person's head, to be specific.

Natasha, Wanda, Steve, and Tony were going in. Bruce was heading up coms from the quinjet. Stealth was the key here. Natasha and Steve were going to look for the information and Tony and Wanda were there to cover their backs.

Except Natasha was getting that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she always did right before something went wrong as Bruce landed.

"Alright guys," Stev declared. "In and out, under an hour. Aim for stealth. We will not set off those alarms or alert them to our presence. We ready?"

Everyone gave their agreement and headed off the jet.

Wanda knocked out all the guards with a flick of her wrist. Natasha gave her a nod of approval. They had been working with her on making people see nothing at all, rather than something nice or something terrible, that resulted in a state of unconsciousness. It seemed to work.

They made their way into the building as Bruce talked them into getting up to the file room. Natasha and Steve went in and stared rapidly digging through the files. Tony took the front entrance and Wanda took the back one by the stairwell.

Bruce kept them updated on the movement of others in the building. Things seemed to be going well. Maybe even too well. The people working on the first floor didn't seem to be alerted to their presence whatsoever. Even the men who had been incapacitated by Wanda were up and about, acting completely normal.

"Any luck guys?" Tony hissed through the door. Steve and Natasha had been digging through the file room for over half an hour. They were really pushing their luck.

"Nothing yet," Natasha responded with a deep sigh. "We're not even sure the file is here."

"But the information is on this base," Steve said. "Is there any other way it could be stored?"

That got them all thinking. "That's certainly a possibility," Bruce mused. "Maybe in the lab? That code could be stored anywhere."

Natasha and Steve gave up on the files. Tony and Wanda spread out across the second floor, checking other rooms and desks for locked drawers.

"Wanda, you've got incoming," Bruce said. Wanda confirmed that she had heard him and prepared herself for battle.

"It's been too long Wanda," the man said rounding the corner. Wanda froze. Her heart dropped. Everything she had been ready to do stopped dead.

"Wanda? You got this?" Steve asked. She didn't respond. "Wanda? Do you know the guy?"

Von Strucker closed the door behind him. Wanda gulped and backed further into the room. Suddenly she was 13 years old again and sitting at the back of her concrete cell.

He advanced towards her, double checking the door was locked. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "So this is what you do now, hm? You know, this is not what I wanted for you, little one."

They all listened to the conversation with silent horror.

"Bruce, you got voice recognition going?" He didn't respond. "Bruce," Natasha said more harshly.

He cleared his throat. "Um, uh, yeah, we've, uh, got a match. It's Von Strucker."

Well that was a problem. Natasha and Steve exchanged a panicked look. No wonder Wanda was in absolute panic mode. They had read about some of the things he had done to her, but they knew the horribly disturbing list was not complete.

Strucker was close enough to grab Wanda's wrists. She was trembling in absolute terror. Her heart was racing. He moved suddenly and held tight, pushing her up against the wall.

"You know, you were always my favorite. So innocent and easy."

"We're coming to you Wanda," Natasha said. "Bruce, get us there. Now."

They listened as Strucker continued to terrorize Wanda, reminding her of every terrible thing he had ever done to her. They could hear her rapid breathing through the coms.

"Damn it. Tony, get up here. The door's locked," Natasha yelled, slamming her palm against the thick metal door.

He was there in less than a minute. He shot the lock and the three of them rushed in.

Strucker had Wanda pushed up against the wall, his hands pinning her wrists to it and talking in her ear.

Tony didn't give it a second thought before he shot Struker in the back. The man was instantly thrown down hard on the floor. Natasha shot forward and grabbed Wanda's hand, pulling her out of the room.

They could hear him laughing as the girls fled. "It doesn't matter now. I got what I wanted. I'll always own her. She'll never forget me. I'll always be her first."

The heard the sound of Steve's shield connect with his skull. Natasha hoped it didn't kill him. Death would be too easy.

She held tight to Wanda's hand as she pulled her through the corridors. She swore under her breath. The first floor was still crawling with enemies. Then the alarms stared blaring.

Wanda let out another panicked whine. Her knees gave out from under her. She pulled herself into a ball on the floor.

Natasha kneeled down at her side, rubbing her back. Wanda was having a really bad day. Her hands clamped over her ears as she tried to block out the noise. Natasha put her hands over Wanda's. She was panicking enough without the extra noise and flashing lights.

"You two are gonna have to clear the first floor," Natasha said into the coms. "We're gonna stay here."

"I'm coming in," Bruce added. "No hulk, just guns."

Natasha gently stroked Wanda's back as they listened to gunfire and yelling from the lower floor.

"You're okay milaya. We're gonna get out of here and we can go home and take warm showers and curl up and watch a movie. How does that sound?"

Wanda didn't respond. She sniffed and gasped a little for air. A man burst through the door and started running towards them. Natasha didn't hesitate to shoot him between the eyes with her icer.

Natasha let out a breath. She had helped Wanda through panic attacks before, sometimes in public, but never in the field.

She stayed with Wanda, trying to calm her down, to no avail.

"They're gonna blow the building," Bruce said into the coms. "You guys need to get out of here."

Natasha sighed. She stood up and offered Wanda her hand. She didn't uncurl from her ball.

"Wanda," she said gently, "we need to leave. It isn't safe in here. Come on."

Wanda shook her head and wiped some tears from her eyes. "What if he's outside waiting for me?"

Natasha's heartstrings pulled. "He's not. Steve and Tony got him pretty good. He's." She stopped. She looked into the room where his body had been. He was gone.

She swore under her breath. How had none of them  
noticed? There were only two ways out. The windows had bars on them. They could see both points of exit from where they were in the hallway.

"Look, I'll stay with you, okay? I'm not going to leave you alone. If we see him, I promise I won't let him touch you. But we need to go."

Wanda nodded slowly and took Natasha's hand. Natasha led them down the stairs and they fled to the quinjet hidden in the woods. Neither of them stopped to look if Strucker was around.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief when she shut the hangar door behind her. She knew the three left could handle the base no problem.

Wanda resumed her previous position, back against the wall, her knees hugged into her chest, breathing heavily and erratically.

"I thought I'd never have to see him again," Wanda managed to squeak out. "He hurt me."

Natasha slid down the wall next to her and put her legs out, crossed in front of her. "I know he did. But you're so much stronger now."

Wanda shook her head. "Not strong enough. He said I'll never be strong enough."

And that was the only way anyone could beat the great Scarlet Witch: mind games. Natasha wondered just how much had happened between the two not on Wanda's files to leave her so terrified that she couldn't muster up her powers, or even any sort of way to fight back.

The hangar opened and the three of them stepped on. None of them looked too bad. Bruce shot Wanda a worried look as he headed towards the cockpit.

They heard a loud explosion as Bruce got them off the ground. The building exploded into flames in the distance.

Steve sighed. "I guess we'll never find that file. We'll have to find another way."

Wanda lifted her head from her knees. She was deathly pale. "It wasn't in a file."

Tony, Steve, and Natasha looked at her quizzically. "Did you find it? How was it stored?" Steve asked.

Wanda let out a shaky breath, a single robust tear rolling down her cheek as she stared into the wall across from her. "It was in Strucker's head. He was the only one that knew it. More secure that way."

After everything he had done to her, all the painful memories he shoved back in her face, Wanda had gone into his head and managed to pull out the code.

Tony wordlessly handed her a pad of paper to write down what she knew. She wiped away a few more tears as she wrote. Natasha knew Wanda could find what she wanted in someone's head, but only after digging around through other information first. She didn't want to know what she had had to dig through to get that code.

Steve went and grabbed a shock blanket for her. She was shaking like a leaf. She gave him the pad of paper and took the blanket. She wrapped it tightly around her shoulders and rested her head on Natasha's lap on the plane ride back. Natasha played with her hair, twisting it around her fingers and gently pulling out knots.

It was a very long flight back to New York. Steve and Tony fell asleep in their seats. Natasha looked down at Wanda, hoping she was resting too. But Wanda just looked up at her in return.

Wanda pulled her knees to her chest, still lying on her side. Natasha gently placed a hand on her hip, running her thumb across it in small lines.

"He remembers everything," Wanda said in a small  
voice. Natasha looked down at her in surprise. "Everything he ever did to me, my brother, all the pain, the experiments... all of it. And it makes him happy."

There was nothing she could possibly say to make this better, so Natasha stayed quiet. "He told me  
he misses having me at an arm's length away." Then, much more quietly, "I know it's irrational, but I'm scared."

Natasha shook her head. "It's not. You have many, many reasons to be scared of that man, Wanda, and I hate him for that. But you have us now. We're here to protect you." Wanda looked up at her with those huge eyes of hers. "From him and the memories he left you."

Back at the compound, Wanda was too scared to be alone, but too proud to say it. After they had both showered and changed into pajamas, Natasha went into Wanda's room.

"Mind if I stay in here tonight?" Natasha asked her. Wanda shook her head and moved over.

Just like on so many other nights, Wanda curled around Natasha, who rested her head on Wanda's. They turned on some mindless tv show and watched it with little interest as they lay holding each other, glad for the company.

Wanda didn't feel safe. She was sure she wouldn't for a long time. She had been making so much progress and Strucker had managed to take all that away from her in the span of 10 minutes. But she felt a little bit safer knowing that she was in a building with people who would go to the ends of the earth to protect her, and her favorite person in the entire universe lying next to her, who would do anything for her, even hold her just a little bit closer so she could sleep without fear.

Little did Wanda know that sleeping near her helped Natasha control her own feelings of guilt over not being able to protect Wanda. Natasha decided that whatever it took, she would make sure Wanda felt safe with her, and would do everything in her power to erase the damage that monster had instilled upon her. But for now, she settled for just watching over her while she slept. For now, that was enough.


	9. Period Pains

It had been a long time coming. Natasha, being unapologetically female as she was, promised Wanda getting your period was not something to be uncomfortable about. Besides, for her, it was going to mean she had gained weight and her body was healthy enough to leave fight or flight mode.

The day finally came when Wanda showed up in Natasha's doorway, biting her lip. "Do you have any pads I can take?"

A small smile graced Natasha's lips. "Yeah, of course."

They didn't really talk about it, but Natasha made it clear her door was always open. They both went about their days completely normally. Training went off without a hitch, but Natasha could tell she was uncomfortable.

The next morning, Wanda joined Natasha in the kitchen for breakfast. Natasha watched as she made her first stop at the medicine cabinet. Natasha raised her eyebrows as Wanda poured herself a handful.

"Don't take more than four of those," Natasha warned her. "What's wrong?"

"My abdomen," Wanda said, wincing as she sat down at the table. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?"

Natasah took in the young girl's appearance. She was paled and slightly shaky. The pain was written all over face, and she didn't show pain easily.

"Maybe a little. Cramps can hurt pretty badly, but they're not supposed to be this bad," Natasha answered, taking a slow bite of her cereal. "See if they get better throughout the day. Exercise might help."

Their run that day didn't last very long. Wanda was doubled over in pain less than a mile in. She had a hand bracing her lower abdomen.

Natasha sighed and put her hand on Wanda's back. A few seconds later, Wanda threw up in the trash can nearby.

"You didn't say you were nauseous," Natasha chided lightly.

Wanda shook her head, not straightening up. "I wasn't. It hurts."

They walked very slowly back to the compound. Natasha sent Wanda upstairs to shower and change. She didn't think training would be very productive for the rest of the day.

Natasha sat down at the table with a sigh. She slumped into chair next to Steve. Clint raised his eyebrows at her from across the table. "Rough morning?"

Natasha nodded. "Wanda's having a rough day. I think something's wrong."

Steve looked concerned. "What's going on with her? Can we help?"

Natasha smirked. "Lady problems, Steve."

He turned bright red and stuttered out an excuse to leave the room.

Clint shook his head in amazement. "So what's wrong then? I would've thought this was good news." He went over to the sink to wash his cereal bowl.

"It is," Natasha said. "It definitely means she's getting healthier. But she's in an unreasonable amount of pain. She can't function."

Clint hummed. "Laura used to get bad cramps. Heat and Tylenol helped a lot. Has Wanda used either?"

"She threw back 1000 mg this morning. She said it hasn't helped. At all."

Clint shook his head. "Yeah, I'd agree then Nat. Cho's in the building today. She's probably free."

Natasha nodded in agreement. She pulled out a bag of frozen carrots from the freezer.

"I think heat helps more than ice, Nat," Clint called after her.

Natasha lifted the bag in the air. "It's chocolate."

She knocked on Wanda's door before going in. Wanda was curled up in a ball on her bed, still wrapped in her bathrobe. Natasha lowered herself onto the edge of her mattress. She opened the bag and took one. She held it out to Wanda. "Chocolate?"

Wanda shook her head. "I don't think I'll keep it down."

Natasha rubbed Wanda's shoulder for a minute. She seemed absolutely miserable. So she made an exexcutive decision.

"Get dressed," Natasha said to her. She threw her sweatpants and a sweatshirt. "We're gonna go see Doctor Cho."

Wanda nodded but didn't move. Natasha left, giving her some privacy. She hoped Wanda would be able to leave her room.

Never one to let her down, Wanda came out of her room five minutes later. She let Natasha lead her to the medical wing in the building.

She let Wanda curl in on herself on one of the chairs in the waiting room before heading off to find Dr. Cho.

"Natasha," Cho said with a smile when Natasha walked into her lab.

Natasha smiled back. "Hey Helen. Do you have a minute?"

She nodded. "Always. It's a slow day anyway. The lab interns this year are good ones." They stepped out into the hallway.

"So good news and bad news," Natasha began. "Wanda finally began her menstrual cycle." The corners of Helen's lips quirked up. "But she's in a lot of pain. Way more than average."

Helen hummed to herself, contemplating. "She doesn't show pain easily." Natasha nodded in agreement.

"I'll meet you two in the exam room," Helen said. "I'll run a few blood tests. Do an ultrasound. See if anything's wrong."

Natasah nodded and headed back to the exam room. Wanda looked up. "Helen's gonna run some tests. Come on."

Wanda asked zero questions as Natasha grabbed her hand and took her to the exam room. She let Wanda curl up on the exam table and sat down in the plastic chair next to it.

Helen knocked on the door not ten minutes later. "Hey ladies." She gave Wanda a small smile as she slowly sat up.

"Natasha told me period pains are hitting you hard," Helen began, writing down some information on her clip board. "Can you describe them?"

"I can leave," Natasha told her, but Wanda shook her head. She squeezed Natasha's hand.

Natasha's stomach flipped. She was in so. Much. Pain.

They talked for a few minutes before Wanda had to stop from the nausea. Helen took a minute to check off some boxes and type some notes into her computer.

"Alright. I'm sending in someone to take some vials of blood and I'll be back with the ultrasound machine. Sound like a plan?" Wanda nodded in agreement.

She barely protested when the nurse came and took four tubes of blood. And she hated having her blood taken.

Wanda had trouble staying still when Helen did the ultrasound. She was doing her very best to not squirm and ball up again. Natasha let her squeeze the absolute hell out of her hands.

Thankfully, the test didn't take very long. Helen ran the wand over her abdomen for only about five minutes. She took many pictures and furrowed her eyebrows. "Oof." She put the wand down and gave Wanda a towel to wipe off the gel.

Natasha raised her eyebrows at Helen. "Oof?"

Helen sighed as she shut down the machine. "Have either of you ever heard of endometriosis?"

Wanda shook her head, looking between her and Natasha. Natasha looked at her sympathetically and nodded.

Helen dove into a deep explanation of the disease. She showed them the captures of the misplaced tissue on the ultrasound. They scrolled through for a few minutes, Helen pointing out all the areas the tissue lay where it wasn't supposed to.

"I'm not gonna lie. You're in for a hell of a few days. I can't imagine how bad the pain is right now. You have a few ovarian cysts thrown in there too. I'm gonna prescribe you some medicines. Do you want to hear about them?"

Wanda sighed, curling tighter. "Honestly? Not really."

Helen snorted and smiled kindly. "That's fine. I get it. I'll text Natasha when it's ready, okay?"

Wanda nodded. Natasha sent her off back to her room. She made a valiant effort not to hunch over on her walk back.

"I'm going to email you information about all of this and her medicines. One of the medicines is birth control. There are some side effects, but honestly, I think they're going to be nothing compared to the pain she's in." Natasha nodded in agreement. That was very true.

She returned to Wanda's room with the birth control, a heating pad, and a bottle of Percocet. She gave Wanda a pill of each. Wanda took them dry before Natasha could even offer her water.

"You don't wanna know what they are?" Natasha asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Wanda shrugged. "I trust you. Besides, I don't think it can make this much worse."

She had her there. Natasha flopped down next to her and gave Wanda the heating pad. Clint brought them dinner that night. He ate with them in Wanda's room, staying until the end of The Shape of Water.

"You two have good taste in movies," he declared, standing up and collecting their plates. "But tell anyone I like romantic dramas and it's over for both of you."

Wanda giggled from her spot under the covers. Natasha had caved and given her a second Percocet, and now she was slightly loopy.

"Feel better kiddo," Clint said as he shut the door behind him.

Natasha looked to Wanda. "What's next?"

Wanda pulled up Love, Guaranteed. She was in a very laughy mood. Natasha was loving it. She was very content spending the rest of the night watching cheesy movies with Wanda. Even though Natasha didn't have the ability to have kids, she had never felt more like a mother than curled up beside Wanda under a pile of blankets.


	10. Sick

Natasha was always taught letting people take care of you was a weakness. It was like rolling over into your back and leaving yourself vulnerable to attack. It was a terrible idea and it always came back to hurt her. Whenever she started to trust somebody, they always, always betrayed her.

And then she had met Clint. He had been the first person to really take care of her. He brought her food when she refused to leave his guest bedroom and told her he would take care of everything.

Next, she joined Clint on the Avengers. She trusted some of them more than others, but none of them had hurt her (yet). Sure, Tony did a lot of stupid things and Bruce hurt her (well hidden) feelings sometimes, but they had never hurt her purposely or so badly that she could not recover.

Natasha didn't even know she could get sick. It had always been one less worry for her. Maybe she just had a super strength immune system. Or maybe she was just ironically lucky.

But the week at the Bartons seemed to do it in for her. Cooper and Lila both had a bad cold that they had gotten from school. She spent the week helping Clint and Laura run medicine and meals up to the kids. She snuggled with Lila and watched movies in her room because Lila could never fall asleep when she was sick.

And then Natasha went back to the compound. She showed up to training in leggings and long sleeves rather than shorts and a tank top, like usual.

"Feeling colder than usual Nat?" Tony teased. Natasha rolled her eyes.

She felt off balance during training. Steve managed to get a hit in on her.

"You doing okay?" He asked her. "You're off today."

She practically growled at him. "I'm fine, Rogers. Maybe I just wanted to boost your confidence, ever think of that?"

He threw his hands up in defense and walked away. Natasha continued to feel weaker than usual during training. By the end, she was sweating profusely, but still felt the chills.

"Nat, you sure you're good?" Clint asked.

She glared at him. "I said I'm fine Barton. Leave me alone for once."

Everyone watched her storm off to her room. Steve whistled. Wanda looked after her worriedly.

"She seems to be having a bad day," Wanda commented.

Sam snorted. "Understatement of the year, little red."

Wanda debated her next move. Like everyone else, she was worried about Natasha, but she clearly couldn't just ask. The last thing she wanted was to have Natasha mad at her.

She showered and pulled on a sweatshirt and some shorts. The more she thought, the more things clicked. She may not have had a formal education, but she sure wasn't stupid. Whenever she was sick, she was freezing, too.

Wanda made two sandwiches and brought them up to Natasha's room. She knocked hesitantly on the door.

"I swear to God Clint, I'll kill you."

Wanda gulped. She guessed that was partly what she had expected. "Sorry. I brought you a sandwich, if you want it."

There was silence for a minute, then Natasha opened the door. "Sorry." She stepped back to let Wanda in.

Natasha sighed as she took one of the sandwiches. They sat down on Natasha's bed cross legged, facing one another. They ate in silence for a few minutes, while Wanda worked up the courage to speak.

"You know," she said carefully, her eyes staying on her sandwich, "when I get sick, I'm always freezing."

Natasha froze, her eyes hardening. Wanda watched carefully for a reaction. Then Natasha met her eyes.

Wanda jumped up, abandoning her sandwich. "Sorry, this was, uh, I thought you might be hungry. And I'm worried, but I know you don't like us worrying, so-"

Natasha sighed, cutting her off. "It's fine, Wanda. I'm fine."

Wanda looked at her with her big, puppy dog eyes. "Would you tell me if you weren't?"

Natasha didn't respond. They both knew that would probably be a no.

Wanda gave her a small smile and took the plates back down to the kitchen, leaving Natasha alone with her thoughts. She wasn't used to people caring this much. She knew most of the team was too scared to come and talk to her like Wanda had done.

By dinner time, Natasha was dizzy. She didn't bother going down for dinner. She wasn't hungry.

Around nine, there was another very light knock at her door. She glared at it, willing whoever was there to go away. She didn't feel well and she just wanted to be left alone in her misery.

But Natasha knew only one person who knocked like that. She opened the door. Wanda held out a banana. "You missed dinner."

Natasha debated giving her a snarky response. (She knew she missed dinner, what a great observation.) But Wanda hadn't done anything to deserve it. She took the banana. "Thanks."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Wanda turned to leave. Natasha opened her mouth to ask for her to stay, but the words died on her lips. She closed her door, ate, then lay down and tried to sleep.

She woke up with a headache. She felt like somewhat had stuffed her head with cotton. She didn't like it.

She groaned in frustration. She had gotten the cold from Clint's kids. She hadn't been sick in a very, very long time. And she was angry about it. She found her eyelids growing heavier and fell asleep again.

Wanda was ready for her 11 am training session with Natasha. She was dressed and in the gym ten minutes early. And she was more than concerned when Natasha wasn't there by 11:15. She had never been late before to a session.

Wanda made her way to Natasha's room for the third time in two days. She raised her hand to knock before lowering it. One, if Natasha was still sleeping, Wanda didn't want to wake her, even if it was past 11. Two, Wanda knew she was sick. The least she could do was show up bearing gifts.

At noon, Wanda made her way back to Natasha's room, clutching a box of tissues, an entire bottle of Mucinex, a water bottle, and a steaming mug ginger tea. And an apple, for good measure. She doubted Natasha had eaten since last night.

Wanda put her ear to the door. She heard nothing. She knew better than to go in without knocking. Her chest twisted painfully as she quietly rapped her knuckles against the door.

She heard Natasha sigh angrily before she threw open the door. "I was sleeping, Wanda. What's so important that you had to get me up," she snapped.

Wanda tried to proceed undeterred. "I have some stuff for you. I know you're not feeling great. If I could just come in for a minute-"

"No," Natasha said, a hard glare falling on Wanda.

"Uh, alright. I'll just leave it here, I guess." Wanda put the tray on the ground and walked away. She tried not to be hurt by Natasha's harshness. She told herself Natasha wasn't really upset with her, but her mind argued otherwise.

Natasha watched her go, irrationally angry. She knew Wanda was just trying to help, but she didn't feel well. She picked up the tray and set it down on her bed. She took in the assortment of things Wanda had brought her. That tea did look tempting. And she was running out of tissues. As sweet as it was of Wanda to bring Mucinex, she knew it wouldn't work for her. Then her eyes caught the clock. 12:08.

Well damn. That was bad. She closed her eyes. She was supposed to train with Wanda that morning at 11. She couldn't imagine how bad it looked, her sleeping til noon. She had never done that before. No wonder Wanda had been concerned enough to wake her up.

She ate the apple and hydrated, letting herself calm down. The hot tea was helping to clear her sinuses and alleviate her headache a bit. The more she thought, the worse she felt. She shouldn't have lashed out at Wanda.

She pulled out her phone and shot Wanda a text. She was never good with apologies, but she knew over text probably wasn't the right way to go. Instead, she invited Wanda to her room to watch a movie.

Wanda responded twenty minutes later, saying she would love to after she got cleaned up. Natasha felt a stab of pride at the fact that Wanda had taken it upon herself to train anyways.

Around two, Wanda knocked on her door. Natasha was quicker to answer this time. Wanda was dressed in leggings and an oversized short sleeve tee. Her hair hang in neat, wet lines.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Wanda began. Natasha opened her mouth, but she plowed ahead. "I know I shouldn't have woken you and that Mucinex probably won't even work and I don't even know if you like ginger tea. Sorry."

Natasha smiled and squeezed her hand as they sat down on her bed. "No, Wanda, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know you're just trying to help. I'm just," she sighed, "not used to people caring this much. And yeah, I am sick. The way I grew up, vulnerability and sickness are weaknesses."

Wanda cuddled into her side and pulled a blanket over them. "Well, I care. My mom used to take care of me when I was sick when I was very little. She would make me hot broth and sing me lullabies. It was nice."

Natasha could feel herself growing tired again. She fought it hard. She shouldn't be this tired. She usually ran on four, maybe five hours a night.

"I'll be here when you wake up," Wanda said, snuggling closer. "I'm tired too. A little extra sleep will not kill us, no?"

Natasha smiled and closed her eyes. "I suppose not." She hesitated. "Thank you, little witch."

Wanda responded instantly. "Of course, Tasha. I love you."

No one was brave enough to wake them up for dinner that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to drop any prompts you want to see in the comments. I do have some ideas left, but would love some more!


	11. Appendicitis

If there was one thing Wanda hated, it was being a burden. Part of that meant not telling anyone about her pain. She always just sucked it up. All that ever came from her telling people she hurt was punishment and usually more pain.

So, yeah. It had been years since she had told anyone when something hurt.

It started with a dull ache in her side. She went for her morning run with Natasha as usual, but found it hard to focus with the pain.

"You're slower than usual this morning," Natasha commented as they wrapped up their third mile. "Why?"

Wanda struggled to talk as she tried to catch her breath. One hand held her side. "It is nothing. I am sorry."

Natasha sighed and stared her down. "Don't be sorry. But I would love to know why. You know I can't help if I don't know the problem."

That was true. Wanda knew it. She nodded but didn't elaborate on her previous answer. The run had made the pain so much worse. She threw up before getting in the shower.

She skipped breakfast after her shower. She knew she was supposed to eat and refuel, but she wasn't convinced she could keep it down.

By lunch time, the dull ache had become a sharp pain. She tried to discreetly hold her side as she made her way to the common room. Steve looked up and smiled.

"Ready for afternoon training kiddo?" Then he frowned. "Are you feeling okay?"

Wanda pulled up a smile. "Yes, I'm alright, why do you ask?"

"You're really pale Wanda." She gave him another fake smile.

"I did not sleep well, that is all." It wasn't a lie. She hadn't slept well. The pain had woken her up.

He smiled at her, trying to brighten the room. "If you say so. See you outside in 15."

Wanda changed into leggings and a tee. Some of them needed full out suits and armor for their training. Wanda wasn't one of them. They had told her it was more important for her to wear something comfortable that she could move in.

She eyed the clock as she pulled on her sneakers. She had ten minutes to spare. She lay down on her bed with a huff, curling in on her side. It was no longer sharp. It was more like a fire spreading in her abdomen. She stopped at the kitchen and dry swallowed four Tylenol before heading outside.

Natasha squinted at her as she came out. Wanda wasn't even holding herself fully upright. And she was deathly pale. Steve was right. Something was definitely wrong.

She gently took Wanda's wrist and took her away from the group. "Alright Wanda. You look terrible and you can't even stand all the way upright. What's wrong? I swear if you say nothing, you'll regret it," she threatened.

Wanda gulped and let out a shaky breath. "I think I ate something bad last night. My side just hurts a bit."

"Mhm." Natasha wasn't convinced. "That's it? Your side hurts?"

Wanda nodded. "That is it."

Natasha chose to believe her for now. Maybe her side really did just hurt. But it was weird for her side to hurt after eating some bad food. She'd figure it out later.

Wanda seemed fine during training. Her powers brilliantly wrapped and manipulated the missiles and her teammates as they worked on new ways to work off of each other. Wanda tried to ignore the growing fire. At least she didn't have to move too much today.

She lay down on her bed again after Steve excused them all from training. She curled up tightly, holding back tears. She had never had a pain like this before. She tried to think about the workouts she had done most recently. Maybe she just pulled a muscle. Or maybe she really did just eat some bad food. But deep down, she knew it was something more.

She knew she should go get help. Maybe she could just go see Dr. Cho, see if she could get her some really strong pain medicines. Dr. Cho never asked too many questions. Wanda quite liked the woman. She always made a valiant effort to be respectful of her boundaries and wishes.

Wanda decided that was her best bet. The Tylenol had done nothing for her. She took a sharp breath as she sat up, her face contorting in pain. Her fingers ghosted the wall as she made her way out the door and into the hallway.

Her vision was blurring as she made her way very slowly down the hall, but she didn't let that stop her. She reminded herself that she had experienced worse pain before.

She was almost to the elevator when she felt an explosion of new pain. She let out a loud yelp and fell to the floor. Her pain had increased exponentially. Something was definitely very wrong.

Natasha poked her head out of her room. "Wanda? You okay?"

No answer. Something felt off. The sound had come from farther down the hallway. Natasha took off at a brisk walk. Then she saw her, crumpled on the floor.

"Wanda!" She rushed over to her side, noting she had grown even more pale in the hour between the end of training and now. "What's wrong?"

She let out a few labored breaths. "It hurts, Tasha." She took a few much quicker breaths. She was going to start hyperventilating. "Cho."

Natasha took that as a cue. She swept Wanda up in her arms and ran up the stairs to the medical wing.

"Helen, we have a problem," Natasha declared loudly as she carried Wanda to a gurney. She let her down just in time as Wanda leaned over and threw up in a trash can. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her hair slick. She was burning up, no doubt with a high fever. Helen and a team of professionals came running. Natasha looked down at Wanda and pushed the hair out of her face. She looked terrified.

"What happened?" Helen demanded as her team surrounded Wanda. She let out a whine as one of them took her wrist for a pulse. Natasha held fast to her other hand.

"She said this morning her side hurt. That's all I know. She hasn't been able to stand up straight since seven."

Helen nodded and very gently pushed on Wanda's side. She let out a scream and tried to squirm away from her touch and curl back up into a ball.

Helen's face hardened. "That's one angry appendix. I think it already burst. She needs surgery, now."

She yelled out orders to prep the OR and took off down the hallway. "Natasha, stay here. We'll do everything we can. But we need to get her in right now."

Natasha dropped Wanda's hand and watched as she was carted off, still breathing quickly and whining. Natasha didn't know what to do. She just stood there, staring. She was so used to situations she could fix. Punching, beating, threatening, that she could handle. But this? She had no control here.

She stood in the hallway, staring dumbly at the empty wing for another twenty minutes. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She grabbed and twisted, hard.

Steve grunted as she flipped him onto the floor. She sighed in frustration. "Sorry Steve. You snuck up on me."

"Didn't think that was possible," he groaned as she helped him up. He dusted himself off before looking up at her. "Helen sent a nurse to tell us. Wanda's in surgery?"

She nodded and they made their way to the waiting room to talk. Clint and Bruce were already waiting there.

She rapidly filled them in on everything she knew. Clint rubbed circles on her back, trying to calm her down. "She, she was slow on our run this morning. And then she was really pale, so I confronted her. All she said was that her side hurt." Natasha sighed and lowered her head into her hands. "I guess that really was it."

"It's not your fault Nat," Bruce assured her quietly. "You couldn't have known. And honestly, I doubt Wanda did either."

"Yeah," Clint agreed. "That kid knows how to hide pain. Don't blame yourself."

They waited in silence for any sort of update on Wanda's condition. Hours went by. Nothing. They knew that for every second no one came out, Wanda was still alive. They really hoped she stayed that way.

After a very long nine hours, Doctor Cho finally came out. She was covered in blood and something green. She pulled off her mask and sighed as she looked up at them. They waited with bated breath.

"She made it," Helen began. They let out a collective sigh of relief. "But I'm not gonna lie, it was close. Very, very close. Her appendix had already ruptured before we got her in. She's on high strength antibiotics, hoping she doesn't get sepsis. She doesn't have any fat on her, so the pus was able to go further. It took a long time to clean out and I doubt we got all of it. She must have been in severe pain for hours leading up to this."

And there it was. Severe, severe pain. For hours. And Wanda hadn't told them. But she had told Natasha that her side had hurt. That was as close as they got. But she had trusted Natasha enough to tell her.

"Can we see her?" Clint asked.

Helen nodded. "She's pretty out of it. We have her on some very strong pain medications and the anesthesia is still wearing off. Let her rest if she starts to nod off."

They all nodded and headed off down the hallway. All four of them squeezed into the makeshift hospital room.

Wanda had a few different tubes sticking out of her. They knew she would panic when she was more with it. She looked so small and young in the hospital bed. Sometimes they all forgot she was still just a teenager.

She smiled lightly at them. "Hi." Her throat was scratchy.

Natasha smiled at sat down on the edge of her mattress, squeezing her hand. "You weren't kidding when you said your side hurt, huh?"

Wanda giggled and shook her head. She leaned into Natasha. "Sooooooo much pain." She giggled again.

Clint snorted and they all laughed. Despite her powers, medicines still worked normally on Wanda.

Steve sat down in the chair next to the bed. "But you're in less pain now?"

She nodded, still smiling. Clint shook his head. "You're high as a kite kiddo."

She giggled again, a little bit hysterically. "But it feels so good." That gave them all another big laugh.

Bruce talked to Helen in the hallway about monitoring for further signs of infection and sepsis. She was heading out of town again soon and Bruce would be taking over Wanda's care. She told him about rebandaging the wound and what to do when she inevitably popped her stitches from too much activity. And who to call and where to bring her if sepsis did develop.

When they went back into the room, they were jet with laughter. Natasha was laying out on Wanda's bed, her legs crossed in front of her. Wanda was tucked away into her side.

Helen smiled. "So I'm guessing you have very little to no pain, Wanda?"

She nodded happily and rested her head against Natasha's shoulder. "Not anymore."

The others quietly filed out and gave her get better soon wishes. Helen told Wanda about how she was leaving and that Dr. Banner would be taking over, but it was pretty obvious Wanda wasn't absorbing any of it. She giggled after Helen finished talking.

Natasha just looked at her. "What's so funny, little witch?"

Wanda giggled harder, holding her side and wincing a little. "The Hulk is gonna be my doctor."

Helen and Natasha laughed. It was pretty funny. Dr. Cho left them alone, deciding Natasha wasn't going to keep her from resting.

"Close your eyes Wanda," anatasha said softly, closing her own eyes. "I'm guessing you didn't sleep much last night."

Wanda shook her head, burrowing further into her side, hands bracing her abdomen. "Nope. It hurt too much."

Natasha frowned. "You know you can come get me at any time if something hurts, right?"

Wanda hummed and shook her head. "That's a weakness."

Natasha shook her head. She knew they needed to have this conversation again when Wanda was, well, sober.

"It's not a weakness to let others help you, Wands. I'm always here for you."

Wanda smiled sleepily. "I know. I love you Tasha."

She smiled and pressed a gentle kiss against her hair. "I love you too Wanda."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop prompts in the comments!


	12. Witch Down

The mission was, of course, more complicated than usual. But this time, there weren't more soldiers or more weapons and guns. This time, it was a bomb. A very big bomb in a very civilian area.

Steve found the schematics in the basement of the base. "Guys, we have a problem. This says there's a bomb."

"No problem cap," Tony responded. "Where to?"

"I only have the blueprints. I don't know what this is, but it's definitely not this base."

"I'll be there for FRI to scan them," Bruce volunteered. Natasha, Wanda, and Sam easily had everything handled elsewhere.

They heard the shuffling of papers and FRIDAY's scan running. Then Bruce sighed deeply.

"These are the schematics for the marketplace building," he announced grimly. "Looks like they're planning to blow it soon. Don't know when though."

"I think I do," Tony announced. "I found a timer. Three guesses for what it goes with."

Well that wasn't good. "How much time?" Natasha asked, taking a break. Her section was cleared.

"Just under five," Tony answered.

"Hours?" Steve asked.

There was a short silence, then, "minutes."

Sam swore under his breath and Natasha mumbled something in Russian.

"Where is the marketplace?" Wanda asked. "I can contain a bomb. I have done it before."

"That didn't go too well last time," Tony commented.

"But we know it is here. I can make it smaller and give everyone time to leave."

"Wanda, that's a really dangerous plan," Steve commented carefully.

"Do you have another one Steve?"

He did not. Neither did anyone else. They had no options and no time.

"Three minutes," Tony said. "I can try to disarm it."

"Talk me through how to get there," Wanda said calmly, heading away from her sector. "I can do it."

"Wanda, you're going to get hurt," Natasha said sternly in the coms. "Don't do it."

"If I do not, then everyone in that building goes. One for five hundred. It makes sense."

Agaisnt her wishes, Tony gave Wanda directions to the building.

"Alright kiddo, I'll keep you updated on the timer," Tony told her. "Everyone else is gonna focus on evacuating that building."

"I'm still not on board with Wanda suppressing a bomb," Bruce argued. Natasha and Steve and Sam all agreed.

"Me neither, but it seems like it's our only option, other than letting all those people in that building die." A beat, then "two minutes."

"I am here," Wanda announced. "I am heading down to the basement. Please make sure this is not in vain."

"You're not going to die Wanda," Natasha announced. She didn't know what she'd do if she did. Then she sighed. "But yes, we're working on clearing the building."

Tony read out the last 30 seconds of the timer. Natasha and Steve scrambled to get people out of the building. Sam watched from above for stragglers while Bruce calculated the potential blast radius.

"Ten... nine... eight..."

"Just do your best Wanda. Don't hurt yourself," Steve said. They could all hear the strain in his voice.

"Five... four... three..."

Wanda heaved a heavy breath and wrapped her red around the generator sized bomb. Then it exploded. She let out a yell as she tightened her bubble around the blast.

"Is everyone clear?" She asked, the strain clear in her voice.

"Just another twenty seconds, little red," Sam soothed. "Hang in there. You're doing great."

The second Steve and Natasha were far enough, as deemed by Bruce, they called her on the coms.

"Everyone's clear Wanda," Steve said. "You did it. You can let go."

Wanda let out a shaky breath and stared at the ball of blinding light. Then she let go.

The force hit her full blast. The Avengers watched in horror as the building collapsed in on itself. The blast took out less than a block. Wanda felt herself thrown agaisnt something hard, then another, then another. Wall after wall and bruise after bruise. She felt her body hit repeatedly against the layers of the building, until she was struck against the concrete. Her head bounced off of it, hard. She heard a crack and lost her breath.

Wanda could hear everyone panicking on the coms.

"Anyone got eyes on her?"

"FRI, scan the rubble."

"Look for signs of life."

"Has anyone seen her? Wanda, can you hear us?"

Wanda took a few shallow breaths, tears springing to her eyes. Everything hurt and her mind felt foggy. Her eyes stared, unfocused, at the too bright sky above her.

She carefully lifted her arm with a heavy wince and hit her earpiece. By some miracle, it was still intact and in her ear.

"Help," she managed to get out.

"Everyone quiet," she heard Natasha yell. She winced at the noise. "Wanda, was that you? Are you okay?"

Wanda took a few deep breaths and let her arm drop next to her head. "M'head hurts."

There were many sighs of relief from the team. Steve let out a light laugh. "That's okay kiddo. We can help fix it. We just have to find you. What's around you?"

Wanda hummed a little. She really couldn't move. "Sky. Can' move. Ground's hard."

"We need more than that kid," Tony said as he searched frequently from the sky.

Natasha cut him off. "That's okay Wanda. We'll find you. Relax but stay awake, okay?"

Wanda took another very shallow breath. Her chest really hurt. "Kay."

She had given them more information than she realized. Hard ground was probably the street. And she had a clear view of the sky unobstructed by buildings. That narrowed down their options. That meant she was probably farther away than they thought.

Natasha finally found her almost a mile away from the building. She let out a sigh of relief and ran over. She kneeled down next to Wanda, leaning over so she could see her face. She gently pushed some loose hairs out of Wanda's face.

"I've got you, Wanda. I'm here. We found you. You did so well, little witch. We've got it from here, okay?" Wanda hummed, holding eye contact with her. Natasha was blocking out some of the light.

Natasha clicked off Wanda's com to spare her the noise of them conversing. She spoke quietly, one hand cupping Wanda's cheek gently.

"I found her," Natasha said. "We're a little ways away from the building, about a mile out. Wanda's hurt badly, but somehow she's still awake."

It didn't take the rest of them long to track the two down. They found Natasha leaning over a very still Wanda.

Bruce immediately turned around. "I'm heading to get a van. She's gonna need a backboard."

Tony went with him, using his suit to call one to their location. Sam kept watch and helped settle people around them, who were starting to form a small crowd. Steve kneeled down across from Natasha.

He smiled at Wanda as he leaned over her. "Hey kiddo. You did awesome. You saved a lot of lives today."

Wanda blinked hard at him. "Steve?"

He nodded. He realized he probably looked more like a shadow to her.

"Any die?"

He shook his head. Natasha ran her fingers through Wanda's hair gently, making sure not to pull any pieces. "None. You did it Wanda. Now you deserve a rest, okay? Let us take care of you. Can you tell us what hurts?"

Wanda let out another shaky breath. She closed her eyes. "Head. Ribs. Chest." She stopped for a breath. "Hips. Legs." She took another breath. It hurt to talk.

"Is there anything that doesn't hurt Wanda?" Steve asked her gently.

She kept her eyes closed. "No' really."

He exchanged a look with Natasha. He could tell she felt terrible. They all blamed themselves. They had all basically signed off on this plan that they knew would end up with her hurt.

Bruce pulled up with the van a few minutes later. Steve moved so he could lay down the bright orange backboard. "Alright Wanda, this is gonna hurt, but we'll try to make it quick, okay?" Bruce said gently. He looked at her, waiting for an answer. He had no plans to move her without her consenting.

"Okay," she rasped out. She made eye contact with Bruce. Him and Natasha worked quickly. Natasha turned Wanda towards herself as Bruce slipped the board under her back. They let her lay back. Wanda didn't make a move, albeit she was very tense. They secured the straps around end as lightly as they could. They knew how much she hated feeling restrained. Wanda whined and tried to move when she felt the straps go around her body.

"Stay still milaya. It's gonna hurt when you move. These are just here to keep everything still, okay? The more you move, the more your body is going to hurt." Natasha saw the panic in Wanda's eyes. There was no good option here. She gently squeezed Wanda's hand reassuringly.

Bruce and Steve took over with the back board once Wanda was strapped in, lowering it onto a gurney very carefully. Natasha and Tony helped Sam with the crowd.

They loaded Wanda into the back of the van just as the police arrived to take over. Perks of being Tony Stark.

Natasha hopped in the back and grabbed Wanda's hand again. She was panicking as Bruce tried to convince her to let him put on a neck brace. Her breathing was getting faster, which was causing her more pain. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"Hey," Natasha leaned over her, waving off Bruce for a minute as Tony started heading them back towards the tower. "Wanda, look at me. The more worked up you get, the more it's gonna hurt. Bruce wants to put on the neck brace to help keep your spine from getting messed up before we know how bad it is. Let us help you. Trust us." She waited a beat, then still holding eye contact, "trust me."

Wanda squeezed her hand. Natasha leaned in so she could hear Wanda talk.

"Pleass don't put anything around my neck."

Of course. She was an idiot. No wonder Wanda didn't want all the straps holding her down and the brace holding her.

"Okay. We don't have to. But I am gonna have to hold it in place then." She nodded to Bruce. "I'm gonna hold C spine until we can get her more secure." Bruce nodded his approval. Natasha stood up by the gurney and leaned over Wanda. She very gently grabbed Wanda's shoulders and held her head still with her forearms, as loosely as she could without making the gesture useless. She gave her a tense smile.

They worked on keeping Wanda relaxed and awake on the ride back to the compound. Bruce started an IV and contacted Cho back at the base that they had incoming for evaluation.

The two of them didn't leave Wanda's side back at the base. Natasha continued to hold her neck and spine in alignment, speaking to her calmly from a place where Wanda could see her face.

"Wanda," Helen spoke up, leaning to her view. "We're going to need to run some tests. You're going to be in a very small space. Would you like to be asleep for them? We'll wake you up when we have a plan of action."

Wanda looked to Natasha, who gave her a nod. "It'll be easier, Wanda. I'll be here when you wake up, okay? And you know we'll take care of you when you're asleep."

Wanda gave Cho a nod. She was asleep in less than a minute.

They worked quickly to get her in for an x-ray and MRI. Then, surgery. They put in a chest tube for her punctured lung and put a few screws in her ribs. She also had a few fractured vertebrae and a large crack in her pelvis, as well as a broken ankle and dislocated shoulder. All in all, it was not as bad as they expected. The majority of her injuries were going to be severe bruises.

Hours and hours later, Wanda was in the recovery room. She had quite a few screws in her body. She had a few stitches holding her spleen closed. Her arm was in a sling, her ankle in a cast. They couldn't do much for her back and hip other than suggest she keep still and give her ice and braces.

Just like she promised, Natasha was the first person Wanda saw after she woke up. She cracked her eyes open and then quickly shut them at the harsh fluorescent lights. Natasha flicked them off. "Sorry."

She let her eyes stay closed, even though the room was bathed in darkness.

"Are you in any pain?"

Wanda nodded. "My head."

Natasha nodded and adjusted something on her IV. Wanda worked up the effort to crack open her eyes again, lazily scanning her body. She noted the large cast on her ankle and sling on her arm. She went to sit up and gasped.

Natasha was there in half a second, helping ease her back down. "You fractured quiet a few vertebrae and ribs. Your pelvis too. Try not to move too much."

Wanda let her body relax and sighed as she looked at Natasha. "Is everyone okay?"

Even bruised, beaten, and lying in a hospital bed, Wanda still managed to worry about everyone but herself. Natasha smiled and squeezed her hand. "Yeah Wanda, everyone's fine. It's just you we’re all worried about. Hang in there kiddo." She could tell Wanda was fighting sleep. "Get some rest. I'll be here, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Wanda nodded and closed her eyes. "Promise?"

Natasha smiled. She forgot too often that Wanda was just a kid. "Yeah, I promise." She held Wanda's hand until she drifted off to sleep.


	13. First Kiss

Natasha was reading quietly in her room when she heard someone knock quietly on her door. She turned her head, confused. It was past eleven at night.

"Tasha? Can I come in? I, um, I- I really need to talk."

Natasha smiled and shook her head as she opened her door. Of course it was Wanda. She had made it abundantly clear that her door was always open and Wanda should feel okay going to her, any time, day or night. It had taken a long time, but Wanda had finally realized Natasha meant it.

Wanda looked shaken when Natasha opened the door. She stepped back to let her in.

Natasha sat down in the edge of her bed as Wanda paced back and forth, not yet speaking. Natasha decided to wait it out. She hadn't seen Wanda worked up like this in a while. She didn't seem upset, per se. Natasha didn't think she'd seen this emotion on Wanda before, whatever it was.

It took almost ten minutes before Wanda wore herself out. She stopped in the middle of the floor with a huff. She turned to Natasha, hands on her hips. Natasha quirked an eyebrow.

"Vision and I kissed."

Well that was not at all what she had been expecting. Natasha's face morphed into shock, then a small smirk. "Congrats. It's about time." But her face fell when she saw Wanda wasn't smiling back. Not really.

"He didn't push himself on you, right? Because if he did, I swear I'll shut him down and kill him tonight. Right now. We can hide the body together."

Wanda laughed airily and sat down cross legged on her bed. Natasha turned to face her. "No, he didn't do anything wrong. It was just in the moment. It was quick, and nice, and he was a gentleman. He didn't push me."

Natasha nodded slowly, trying to get a read on Wanda. "So why aren't we excited about this?"

Wanda bit her lip and looked down at her lap. She toyed with a loose thread on Natasha's comforter. She was quiet for a few minutes, trying to decide how to get her thoughts into words. Natasha didn't mind the silence.

"It has been a long time since I have been kissed," Wanda decided on. "But I have never wanted to kiss back before."

Natasha sighed. She scooted closer to Wanda, pulling her into her side. She rubbed Wanda's arm comfortingly. It made sense that a kiss with Vision would bring up bad memories for her.

"First of all, thanks for coming to me," Natasha began. She was touched Wanda chose to go to her with the things that haunted her. "And secondly, after all you've been through, I'd think it would be a little more weird if your first consensual kiss didn't bring up memories for you."

Wanda sighed quietly and relaxed into Natasha. "I like him, Tasha. I think I can trust him. I don't think he would hurt me. But I don't know how to make this feeling go away."

Natasha noted Wanda's careful wording. The fact that she didn't know for sure that Vision wouldn't hurt her was alarming to say the least. But she knew Wanda didn't trust easily, nor did she have any reason to.

"I don't think it's that easy Wands," Natasha told her gently. "You know, trust builds with time. I think spending time with Vision, alone, is the only way you're really going to trust him."

Wanda didn't look at her. "There isn't an easier way?"

Natasha chuckled, but not happily. "I wish I could tell you an easier way to do it. But if there is one, I haven't found it yet."

She changed courses. She seemed to only be making Wanda more upset. "But let's talk about the kiss. It's still exciting. Tell me about it. I want all the little details."

Wanda blushed and looked down at the comforter, turning to sit across from Natasha again. A smile graced her face. "He was so gentle and waited to make sure I was okay with it. And his lips were warm and soft, even though he looks so cold and metallic." It made Natasha smile to see Wanda smile. It wasn't very often they got to talk about normal life events like this.

"Sounds like it was nice," Natasha commented. Wanda looked up at her shyly and nodded. Her cheeks were still a rosy shade of red, a sharp contrast to her fair skin. There wasn't much in the world that could make Wanda blush.

"It was very nice indeed," Wanda said softly. "He," she made a face, debating if she should go on. Natasha nodded encouragingly. "He made me feel like a girl rather than an object when he kissed me. It was the most cared about I have felt from a boy."

Natasha was practically cooing, but she kept it to herself. She was so happy to hear that something nice and normal finally happened to this teenaged girl.

And that's what they all needed a little bit more of in their lives. Innocent, pure normalcy. Sure, Wanda was a displaced and orphaned teen with superpowers, and Vision was a half machine synthezoid, and Natasha, a trained assassin, was Wanda's step in mother figure.

So maybe nothing about the situation was really normal, but that didn't mean it wasn't sweet. Instead, Wanda felt like any other teenaged girl coming home and telling her mother about the magic of her first kiss with a boy she really liked.


	14. Run Away

Wanda knew the Avengers didn't like her. Why should they? She had betrayed all of them after Ultron and Sokovia. They had given her a room in the tower and included her in training, but she knew they were just putting up with her. She was only 17. She knew she should be back in foster care, but she also wasn't an American citizen. She couldn't imagine how much of a nightmare she was causing for them legally. Really, she couldn't imagine how much of a nightmare she was for them, period.

She tried to stay quiet and out of their way. She ate when given food and only spoke when spoken to. She avoided using her powers at all costs around them. They had to coax her into using them during training. Their fears of her dissipated when they realized she was more scared of them and herself.

Sure, of course, the first few weeks she was there, they all avoided her. Minus Clint. He felt too guilty over the death of her brother to leave her alone. He was the connecting force between her and the rest of the team.

Steve wasn't mad at her for very long. He understood why her and her brother had done what they did. They thought they were doing it for the right cause. Deep down, Natasha knew the same thing. She hadn't been much older than Wanda when Clint had found her and she was recruited, and she had messed up way worse than Wanda had.

Bruce understood what it felt like to lash out because of so much fear. Sure, he didn't trust Wanda at first. None of them did. But that didn't mean that he didn't grow to like her. Tony was the only one who couldn't seem to move past her mind control.

Wanda had been living with them for over ten months. They had gotten to know her a lot better. They found out that she was only seventeen. That her and her brother had been bounced between orphanages before finally ending up on the streets. That they signed up for Hydra because they were promised food and a roof over their heads and Wanda protection from the predators on the streets. That Wanda really didn't know a lot about her powers and was terrified of using them. They gradually grew to like her. She was really sweet for a teenaged girl, but also extremely quiet and withdrawn. They worried about her.

"Good job today Wanda," Steve told her after their afternoon training session. "You're really coming along."

She gave him a quick smile before heading off for a shower.

Natasha stood next to Steve as they watched her head off to the showers. "I'm worried about her."

He nodded as they watched her disappear into the building. "Me too. She doesn't eat enough and she barely talks. I think we really need to talk to her."

Natasha had tried. She had no idea what to say to her. When Clint had found her, she had been angry and fought his every move. She tried every chance she got to take back some form of strength and power. But Wanda was nothing like she was. Being the only women in the compound, they did bond slowly. Wanda sometimes laughed and giggled at her jokes. It made Natasha feel warm inside.

She brought Wanda meals and told her that her door was always open. She went on runs with her and taught her hand to hand combat. But she had no idea how to help her emotionally. She knew Wanda was drowning but didn't know how to pull her out.

Clint was better with her, probably the best out of all of them. He was good with Wanda. She reminded him so much of Lila, always looking to please. But Lila wasn't an orphan and didn't carry ten years of torture and baggage with her. He talked gently to Wanda when no one else would and was the most comfortable with her powers. He tried hard to convince her that she was just a kid and shouldn't blame herself for all the terrible things in her life. She didn't believe him, of course. Unlike Lila, Clint couldn't solve Wanda's problems with a kiss and a hug. She would barely let him touch her.

Steve tried to talk to her, but he was worse than Natasha. Wanda wasn't even from the US. All of his old fashioned language just confused her. She was clearly uncomfortable around him too. He was polite with her and she was polite with him. The only one she seemed to be even remotely comfortable around physically was Natasha. But it was clear she wasn't fully comfortable around any of them.

Wanda rarely joined in on social events. Steve and Sam were making popcorn for movie night. Tony and Clint were arguing over what to watch on Netflix. Natasha and Bruce were enjoying the fight.

Steve came in and put down the first bowl of popcorn. "Does someone wanna go invite Wanda?" He proposed.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Remind me why we want her in here with us."

"Because she's a part of this team, Tony. Like it or not, she's one of us now," Clint said. The room went quiet.

"I'll go," Natasha volunteered. It wasn't spoken, but her and Wanda had grown rather close. Plus, she really wanted to get away from this conversation before it turned into something more.

She knocked lightly on Wanda's door. "Hey Wanda, it's movie night. Wanna throw on some pjs and join us?"

She waited a minute for a response. "Wanda? Can I come in?"

The door opened less than ten seconds later. Wanda's eyes were red rimmed. "Yes, I'm sorry. Sorry. I will be there."

She went to close the door, but Natasha put her hand out. "Hey, you okay?"

Wanda tried to muster up a smile and nodded with fake enthusiasm. "Yes, sorry. Five minutes?" Natasha decided to drop it. She nodded and headed back down to the common room. She could hear the yelling before she even got to the room.

"How can you guys just accept that she's here, after what she did to all of us?" Tony yelled.

She heard Steve scoff. "What, like you haven't done a worse?"

"She's just a kid Tony, give her a break," Clint yelled.

"No, give me a break. We all know she doesn't belong here. And I'm the one paying for everything she uses. Hell, I'm the one paying for everything everyone uses, hm?"

"You think money is the only thing that matters here, Tony? God, you can be so ignorant," Sam said.

Nobody noticed Wanda appear in the doorway.

"Well, I wasn't the one who mind raped all of us. Why shouldn't we just turn her back into the streets? It's not like she's not used to it."

"Oh that's low, Tony," Natasha growled.

"She's just a kid. You know she did what she thought was right," Steve said.

"We know it wasn't right, Tony, but she didn't. You would've done the same thing in her situation. She's trying to make up for it," Clint argued.

"Well it's a hell of a lot to make up for."

"And she's going to spend the rest of her life trying to make up for it, Tony." Bruce's calm statement left them all silent.

Wanda threw a hand over her mouth to silent her sobs as she went back to her room.

"I mean isn't that what we're all trying to do here? Make up for all the bad we've done?" Bruce pushed.

Tony sighed. He obviously wasn't ready to admit defeat.

"I'm never going to make up for all the bad I've done in this world," Natasha said quietly, "but I'll spend every day for the rest of my life trying, and I'll be damned if I let that girl blame herself for all the bad that's happened. She has nothing to be sorry for. She fought for what she believed was right. And I don't want to hear another word out of any of you, because like Clint said," she lowered her voice dangerously, her eyes becoming daggers, "every single one of us would have done the same. Damn. Thing."

Silence washed over the room and stayed this time. No one dared to argue with Natasha. They knew how protective she had gotten over Wanda.

Natasha let out a long breath, closing her eyes to calm herself down. "Now, we are going to be just as nice to her as she has been to us. She agreed to come down to watch a movie with us. So pick one. She should be down soon."

The team watched some random drama on Netflix. None of them really paid attention. Wanda never joined them. It didn't even occur to them that she had overheard the argument.

Wanda was busy writing a letter saying goodbye in her room. Tears slid off her cheeks and dropped onto the paper, smudging her pen. Her stomach clenched painfully with guilt. She had gotten talks from all of them about how no one hated her and no one blamed her for what had happened. Turns out, she had been right.

She thanked them all for trying to help her and giving her a place to stay, even though they hated her. She wrote that she hated her too. Stark even got a shoutout for paying for everything she had. She told them just how sorry she was about going ther heads, or how Tony had put it, 'mind raping' them. She said she knew she could never make up for what she had done and she really wished she hadn't done too much damage. But most of all, she was so, so, so sorry for being a burden.

She didn't bother writing her name. It's not like there was anyone else to leave a note. It was almost three am.

She didn't take a bag or any clothes. She didn't want to steal. She pulled on her black cotton dress and boots. She debated taking the red leather jacket with her; it was snowing out and under 20. But that would be stealing too.

She settled for the small picture she kept in her bed stand. She sat on the edge of her neatly made bed and just stared at it. She wiped away a stray tear. How she missed her family.

She tucked the picture into her boot and left the room. She made sure to pull the door shut quietly behind her. She half hoped someone would come out and stop her. She wanted nothing more than Natasha to come and find her. She wanted to be held into her chest and be told she was loved and cared for. But that wasn't an option. She had messed up too badly for that.

She was only half surprised when she stepped out the front doors of the tower and into the cold night air. Of course no one had stopped her. Even if they saw, they probably wouldn't have wanted to.

Wanda made her way down the long road to town, making sure to stay in the shadows. The streets in the US seemed much more tame than those of Sokovia. She wandered around until she made her way to a park. She sat down on a bench and watched the sun rise, finally letting the tears run down her face as the sky bled bright oranges and reds.

Natasha was still in a terrible mood the next morning. She couldn't even look at Tony. Worst of all, she had listened as Wanda cried herself to sleep. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. She just didn't feel right going in to stop it.

"Wanda was supposed to meet me this morning at 10 in the gym," Steve commented, coming into the kitchen. "Anyone know where she is?"

He was met with a disinterested chorus of 'haven't seen her's and 'no idea's.

"I'll go get her," Natasha said, getting up from the table. "She had another rough night last night," she said more quietly to Steve as she went by him. As the team leader, he opted to stay in the loop about everyone on his team.

Natasha knocked on her door. "Wanda, kiddo? Are you up?"

She didn't get a response. She pushed her ear to the door and heard nothing. She was probably still sleeping. She debated letting her get a few more hours (she knew Wanda could use it) but also wanted to get some food into her. So she slowly turned the knob and went inside.

But to her surprise, Wanda's bed was neatly made. She checked in the bathroom. It was pristine.

Then she saw the letter, folded neatly on the side table. She had a sinking feeling as she unfolded it and read. She could feel the temperature dropping around her. Wanda had definitely overheard the fight the previous night. She was convinced they all hated her.

Natasha stormed into the kitchen. "She's gone."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she left, Steve. Because she thinks we all hate her. Because she heard us arguing last night about her."

Steve paled. The whole team was in the room. There was some quiet swearing before Tony got up. "Come on," he said quietly and headed towards the elevator. Everyone just stared at him. "It'll be quicker to look for her if we split up and drive around."

By five, none of them had any luck. Wanda was doing too good a job fitting in. It reminded all of them that she had done this before.

Natasha lowered her head into her hands as she climbed back into the car with Clint. She looked up at him.

"This is all our faults. We should've tried harder to let her know that we care about her. I hear her cry herself to bed every night and," she blew out a breath. "I do absolutely nothing."

Clint put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This isn't on you Nat. Like you said, it's on all of us. And we're going to tell her all that when we find her, okay?"

She looked up at him. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her this upset. "Okay."

They decided to change courses and walk while everyone else chose to keep driving around. It was well below freezing out. Natasha had noticed Wanda didn't take anything with her other than the clothing she had arrived in. She had to be cold.

The more they thought, the more they narrowed their search. Wanda wouldn't be sitting on a street corner or on the side of the road begging for money. She was too smart for that. 

Natasha stopped dead in her tracks. "Clint."

He followed her train of sight and let out a huge breath of relief. There was Wanda, sitting on a park bench. She was watching some kids and their parents play in the snow. Her black cotton dress fell down to her mid thigh.

Natasha walked briskly over to her. Clint was already shrugging off his parka. Wanda looked up at them as they approached. They saw her face drop.

Natasha sat on one side of her, Clint on the other.

"We're so relieved we found you kiddo," Clint began. "We've been looking for you all day. We were all so worried."

She looked at him, confused. "Worried about me?"

Natasha laughed lightly from beside her. Wanda turned to her and was alarmed to see a tear running down her cheek. "Yes, worried about you. We love you Wanda." Natasha wrapped her arms around Wanda tightly.

Wanda stayed tense. She was confused. Didn't they hate her? But it felt so nice to be held. No one had touched her in months. She could feel her walls breaking down as she practically melted into Natasha's arms. Clint wrapping his jacket around her was the final straw.

She broke down in Natasha's arms, sobbing. Natasha held her close, resting her chin on the top of Wanda's head. She rubbed circles on her back but never told her she was okay. It was pretty clear that she wasn't. None of this was okay.

Eventually, her sobbing slowed to silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped a few away. "Sorry."

Natasha shook her head. "We should be the ones apologizing Wanda. We need to have a long talk when we get back to the compound." She felt Wanda tense up again.

"You're not in trouble," Clint added. "We just. God, kid, we've been awful to you, and I'm so sorry about that. If you come back, we promise to try to do better." Wanda pulled the jacket a little tighter around herself as the wind picked up.

Natasha didn't let go of her. "Will you please come back, Wanda?"

Clint and Natasha waited with bated breath for her response. She gave them a short nod.

Natasha sat with Wanda in the back seat as Clint drove them all back to the compound, where everyone else was already waiting.

Steve was boiling water on the stove. Sam was chopping up butter. Bruce was shredding cheese. Tony put on a pot of coffee.

Natasha sent Wanda to change before dinner. When she came back into the kitchen, she felt out of place again. Natasha smiled at her and motioned for her to come sit. She poured Wanda a mug of coffee and went to hand it to her.

"Nuh uh," Steve snapped, taking the mug. Natasha raised her eyebrows. "You can't give coffee to a child!" He slid Wanda a mug of hot chocolate.

"Seriously Steve? She's seventeen years old," Natasha defended, slinging her arm around Wanda's shoulders. She smiled a bit and leaned into it.

Dinner was great. Everyone apologized to her in their own way. Bruce pulled her aside before they ate and Steve and Sam after. Tony didn't say it, but the fact that he had gone out looking for her said enough.

Wanda showered and changed before climbing into bed. She knew she wouldn't sleep well. She never did.

She was surprised when she heard a knock on the door. She looked up and saw Natasha leaning in the doorway. "Hey. Can I come in?"

Wanda nodded. Natasha sat down on the edge of Wanda's mattress and sighed. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Wanda," she began, "even though I said my door was always open, did you ever feel comfortable enough to actually come and get me if you needed something?" Wanda looked hesitant. "Be honest. I'm not gonna be mad, I promise."

She watched, unsurprised, as Wanda slowly shook her head.

"Well that's got to change," Natasha declared. She got up and shut the door so they could talk more privately. "Look Wanda, I'm not good with emotions. Honestly? I have no idea how to help you. I'm not good with feelings or talking things out." She sighed. Wanda wondered where this was going because it really wasn't helping.

"But I've been where you are, lost and just a kid, thinking you're a burden to anyone and everyone who offers you a place to stay or any sort of help, and I think our first mistake here was not convincing you that you are not a burden. You are a member of this team, Wanda. You belong here. Okay? And I like you. You're a good kid and I'm sorry I didn't tell you all this sooner."

Wanda nodded slowly, amazed by everything Natasha was telling her. "Now if there is anything I can do to help you, and I mean anything Wanda, I want to to come get me, okay? I don't care how stupid it is. You can come get me after a nightmare or if you just can't fall asleep. You won't be bothering me. And I know you don't believe me yet, but I really do care about you kid, and my door really is always open. Okay?"

Wanda could feel tears welling in her eyes. She swallowed thickly. "Okay."

Natasha gave her a small smile before getting up to leave. She leaned in the doorway. "What can I do for you before we go to bed?"

Wanda bit her lip. It was really stupid and she was embarrassed to ask. She wasn't that close with Natasha and as much as she wanted to believe her, she still felt like she was just being polite.

"Will you, um..." Natasha nodded encouragingly. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Well that certainly wasn't what Natasha had expected, but she had no problem with it. She closed the door and smiled. "Of course I will. I love a good sleepover." She lay down on the bed next to Wanda and picked up her arm, letting her curl into her side. Wanda let herself relax into her.

"Wanna watch a movie before we go to bed?" Natasha offered after turning off the light. She flicked on Wanda's tv.

"Sure," Wanda said. "But you're going to have to pull it up. I don't know what any of the buttons do."

Natasha looked at her for a minute. "You've never used a tv before." It was more of a statement than a question. Wanda nodded. "That's okay. Something for another day."

She turned on reruns of cooking shows and set a sleep timer before laying the remote down on the side table. She lay back in the bed, pulling Wanda with her.

Natasha had never expected for this to happen. She didn't plan on becoming this close with Wanda, but there was just something about her. Natasha carded her slender fingers through Wanda's long, brown hair as they both drifted off.

"Thank you for staying Natasha," Wanda said quietly a few minutes after the tv flicked off.

Natasha smiled. "Anything for you Wanda. I mean it. Always."

They both slept better that night than either of them had in weeks. No one bothered to wake them up for the morning training session. Clint went to check on them and found the pair curled up on Wanda's bed. He slipped out as quietly as he could and let them sleep. They had both finally, even if only temporarily, found peace.


	15. The Exorcist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never seen, and never plan to watch, the exorcist. Sorry for any details I get wrong because of this.

No one at the coumpound really liked horror movies, per se. They all had some other genre they preferred. But to some of the more "manly" avengers, watching horror movies was a feat of strength, holding in your fear and proving you are not scared.

So that's how the avengers found themselves watching "The Exorcist" at their next movie night. Clint tried to protest for what he claimed was Wanda's sake, that they shouldn't show stuff like that around children, but abandoned his post when Tony and Sam called him a chicken.

To Wanda, it was absolutely terrifying. She grew up being told heaven and hell were two very real places. She had even been told by people that her power was a form of the devil living inside of her. So watching a movie where people tried to extract the devil from a person?

Definitely not her first choice. Or second. Or top 100.

She stayed curled up in Natasha's side for the whole thing. She didn't jump or flinch at any of the scenes. She had seen and lived through far worse. She noticed Natasha stayed calm next to her throughout the whole thing, despite the guys jumping and yelling and throwing popcorn.

Up until the exorcism, Wanda didn't really mind the movie. She didn't like it, but it wasn't terrible. She wasn't sure that she understood the plot well, and wondered why they even made movies like this. But she knew that the devil lived in people and that the idea of someone being able to take it out was comforting. She had long wished that someone could take it out of her.

What really scared her wasn't exactly the movie, it was more the way the person reacted to the exorcism. She watched as blood ran down them, coming out of every orifice on the body. That happened when she over exerted herself. They floated off the bed and spoke in a voice that wasn't their own. She had very much felt that happen to herself before in her sleep. Actually, she noticed a lot of similarities between herself and the person that was the target of the exorcism. The more the movie went on, the more fear she felt in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she really did have the devil living inside of her. When would her teammates realize that and try to get it out? Or maybe they would just kill her to get rid of it.

In the second half of the movie, Wanda was pretty zoned out, lost in her thoughts. Natasha didn't like horror movies (she too didn't see the fun in watching them) so she zoned out too. They both, however, zoned back in for the climax.

It was really the stuff of nightmares. Their back cracked loudly as they arched off the bed. Things flew around the room as the preacher flung holy water at them. (Wanda couldn't help but think things flew around her room when she was asleep too.) Sure, the movie was terrifying. It was. Everything down to the detail that claimed the journals were from a real exorcism was truly haunting. Wanda knew it wasn't likely, that it was probably just movie magic, but maybe they were from true stories. Anything was possible. She had learned that the day she could make a stack of blocks fly across a room at the flick of her finger.

Finally the movie ended. Wanda continued to stare at the screen as Steve flicked it off. It certainly left her with a lot to think about.

Steve sighed heavily as he got to his feet. "I really hate these kinds of movies, guys. Next time I'm picking."

"Why's that cap, they're too scary for you?" Tony said.

Clint rolled his eyes. "Not everyone likes having the fear of God struck into them during movie night, Tony."

Unsurprisingly, everyone dragged their feet going to bed that night. No one wanted to be alone in a dark room, but all of them were far too proud to admit it.

"You okay kiddo?" Clint asked her quietly, nudging her with his shoulder. She knew she was spacing out again. She nodded and pulled on a fake smile.

They heard Tony scream, followed by Sam's laughter. "Damn it, that wasn't funny Wilson!"

Clint smirked at her. "Never again, am I right?" She agreed vehemently.

That night, she couldn't sleep. She wasn't terribly worried about the ghouls and faces from the movie showing up in the darkest corners of her room. No, she had been there. Done that. She just couldn't stop thinking about the devil.

She quietly padded to Natasha's door and knocked lightly. Wanda always found comfort in her and Natasha never minded.

Natasha pulled the door opened and smiled at her. She noticed her light was still on next to her bed, a book open on the sheets.

"Can't sleep?" She asked sympathetically. Wanda shook her head.

Natasha closed her book and lay down on the bed. She pulled the covers back for Wanda to join her. "So what's keeping you awake? Is it the movie?"

Wanda sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes and no."

Natasha waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts and continue speaking.

"Do you think I have the devil living in me?"

Natasha's head shot to her. She sat up and turned on her side, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Wanda," she gave her hand a squeeze, "of course you don't have the devil living in you. Why would you ever think that?"

Wanda looked up at her with her big puppy dog eyes. "In the movie, the person made things fly around and their eyes lit up in another color." Natasha felt her chest tightening. "And they could hear voices in their head and lashed out when people got too close without realizing it."

Natasha sighed and pulled Wanda closer to her. "You are not the devil, Wanda. I promise you."

But Wanda didn't seem convinced. "This isn't the first time I've thought about it. In Sokovia, the people told me that I was the devil after I got my powers. I'm not sure they were wrong."

Natasha knew religion had been a big part of Wanda's life back in Sokovia. She also knew that Wanda didn't believe much of it. She didn't believe that there was some all powerful being up there controlling everyone's every move, but the idea of pure evil inhabiting people on earth?

" Wanda, the devil doesn't have any remorse or think twice about doing things. Do you?"

Wanda nodded.

"Could the person in the movie control why the things in the room moved?"

Wanda shook her head. "But sometimes I can't either."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Maybe. But we know why you can't. We know your powers are heavily linked to your emotions. I bet if we combed over enough data, we could easily find a pattern of events that lead to your eyes turning red and things flying across the room when you don't mean to."

Natasha gave her a meaningful look. "And unlike the devil, you care about people."

"So did the person in the movie. They were normal until the devil came to the surface."

Natasha gave her a sad smile. Wanda was only seventeen and she had already been told by multiple sources that she was evil.

"Tell you what," Natasha said to her, "you close your eyes and I promise I'll wake you up if anything happens. Truth is, Wanda, we all lose control when we sleep. That just looks different on everyone. But I promise, promise, promise that what happens when you get tired or overwhelmed or stressed is not the work of the devil. Okay?"

Wanda nodded. Natasha knew she was still bothered, but it wasn't a problem that was going to be solved tonight.

"Let's try to get some sleep, okay? And maybe tomorrow we can watch a different movie."

Wanda liked the idea. Whether or not she had the devil living inside of her, Wanda didn't honestly know what to believe. But it was unarguable that Natasha was right by her side, ready to help save her in a split second if need be, and that she could live with.


	16. Doctor’s Appointment

It wasn't very often that Wanda and Natasha fought. After a year at the compound, they had become close friends. Wanda was maybe the most empathetic person on the entire planet and Natasha always was clear with what she thought. That usually resulted in a pretty good system. But sometimes, it backfired. And when it did? It was bad.

"I really don't wanna go Tasha," Wanda said softly. They were both sitting on her bed, across from each other.

"You have to. This is not up for debate, Wanda. You need to have bloodwork done."

Wanda sighed. She didn't know how to voice her fears.

"Look, I know you like Dr. Cho, but she's out of town. Bloodwork is routine. It needs to get done."

She stared at Wanda. Wanda stared back at her.

"Is there any other way it could be done? Or day? What if I just made myself bleed and collected the blood for them?"

Natasha sighed in frustration. They had been having this conversation for almost half an hour.

"No Wanda, that's not how this works. Why are you so against this?"

Wanda knew it was dumb and childish to be scared of going to a doctor, especially one that worked in the tower. But she had been tortured and misused by enough male doctors to have fear for multiple lifetimes.

"I don't like doctors," she said very quietly.

Natasha looked at her watch. She really needed to get downstairs for her meeting. "None of us like having it done Wanda, but we need to make sure you're healthy, alright? I know you have a bad history with doctors, but I swear these ones are nice. Dr. Peterson is a good man."

She looked at Wanda, who was still just staring at her. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I know you don't like doctors, but you need to see one. Dr. Peterson is your only choice. He wouldn't be here if we didn't trust him. Now I have to go to a meeting with Tony about some new technology. I expect you to be there at noon sharp."

Natasha got up and started walking towards the door. Wanda wondered if there was anything else she could say to get out of this.

"I can't go. I'm going to wait for Cho." She hesitated before sitting up a little bit straighter, trying to project confidence. "I won't go today."

Natasha spun around and glared at her. "Do you have a reason or is it just that you don't like doctors? I'm sorry someone you know isn't here, but it needs to get done. You can trust him." Her voice lowered dangerously. "Don't go. See what happens." And she walked out the door.

Wanda closed her eyes and tried to breathe. She had ten minutes until she had to be down there. She really didn't want to 'see what happened,' as Natasha had put it. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she headed slowly towards the medical wing.

Natasha was in a terrible mood for her meeting. She snapped at Steve when he slid into the chair next to her. He raised his eyebrows.

"Someone's not having a good day," he said. Natasha scowled and crossed her arms.

"Wanda's scared to go to her doctor's appointment today with Peterson. I don't know how to help her, so I," Natasha sighed, letting the mini fight finally catch up to her, "threatened her a little."

His eyebrows rose even more. "You threatened her a little?"

She glared daggers at him. "That's what I said, isn't it?"

He put his hands up defensively. They waited in silence for a few minutes. Of course Tony was late to his own meeting.

Natasha swiveled towards Steve after a few minutes. "Did I do the wrong thing by pushing her to go? She needs to be seen. She's way too skinny and she's probably off the charts deficient and anemic by now. I don't know how else to help her."

Steve smiled at her gently. "Well Nat, she has good reason to be terrified of doctors and needles. We both read her file."

Natasha knew he was right. "But what am I supposed to do? She usually responds fine to encouragement and being pushed. We've never fought about this before. I'm not good with figuring out what she's thinking when she won't tell me upfront. What are my other options?"

Steve's smile morphed into something sadder. "You know how long it took her to trust Cho, and now we're asking her to go see a male doctor who's gonna take her blood and strap her arm down. I don't think it matters how much we trust him if she's never even met him. It's a big ask for her. You didn't consider offering to go with her?"

Natasha sighed and face planted. She groaned. "I should've. No wonder she was so nervous. You're right. I'm an idiot."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not an idiot. You're just two very different people. Your minds don't work the same. For an empath, she can be hard to get read on. And even harder to comfort when her fears don't seem rational."

He looked at the clock. It was almost 12:30. "I'm starting to doubt that Stark is going to show. Why don't you go sit with her?"

Natasha nodded and got up. "I doubt she was able to follow through. Her appointment was for noon. Email or text me notes if Stark ever decides to show up."

Steve gave her a nod. She headed up to the medical wing and found Dr. Peterson wiping down the table. He was new with them and very nervous around the Avengers.

His eyes widened as Natasha approached. "Hello Agent Romanoff."

She nodded a tense hi back. "How did Wanda's appointment go."

He paled a little. "It, uh, didn't. I apologize. I went to wrap the tourniquet and strap her arm in place and she panicked." Natasha's heart dropped. "She got up and left. I don't know where she went, but she wasn't doing well."

Natasha gave him a nod and headed out of the medical wing to find her. She knew she was probably tucked away in a closet somewhere. She was only claustrophobic in places she couldn't get herself out of. Otherwise, she knew Wanda often found it comforting.

She headed down the hallway and listened quietly to each door, pressing her ear to them. She finally heard someone gasping for breath in a small supply closet at the other end of the floor.

She knocked lightly before slipping inside. The light was on in the small three by three closet. Natasha just managed to fit inside across from Wanda. She gave Wanda a small smile.

Wanda was trying to catch her breath. She looked away from Natasha. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Natasha shook her head and picked up Wanda's hand. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't very understanding. I'm not mad at you, okay? Just try to calm down."

Wanda hid her face on her knees and tried to control her breathing. It took a few minutes, but she eventually calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm really sorry, Tasha. I just couldn't do it."

Natasha squeezed her hand again. "I know. It's not your fault. I know I handled our talk this morning wrong. I thought pushing you to go was the right thing to do. It obviously wasn't."

Wanda just nodded. Her eyes went down to the floor. "But you do need to get your bloodwork done. How about I go with you?"

Wadna bit her lip. "What about your meeting?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Stark didn't show. Steve promised to text me if he ever shows up. We have time."

She waited a minute, gaging for a reaction from Wanda. "Will you go back, for me? I'll be right there with you this time."

Wanda nodded allowed Natasha to help her up. They headed back to the medical wing. Natasha didn't know who looked more nervous, Dr. Peterson or Wanda.

"Sorry about earlier," Wanda began. "Do you think I could try again?"

He looked surprised, but nodded. "Yeah, of course. Hop on up. I'm sorry too."

Natasha held Wanda's hand as Dr. Peterson put on the tournequit and strapped down her arm. Wanda squirmed a little, trying to loosen it. She bit her lip, trying to stay calm.

"You don't have to use the strap," Natasha told Dr. Peterson. He looked hesitant, but he wasn't about to say no to the great Black Widow.

This time, there were no problems as he took four vials of Wanda's blood. Natasha watched Wanda keep her eyes laser focused on the needle in her arm. But Dr. Peterson worked quickly, even with his shaking hands, and it was soon over.

"You know I'm not good at communicating," Natasha said as they walked back to their floor to watch a movie. "I really thought you could just get it over with this morning."

"That's okay. I'm seventeen years old. I should be able to go to a doctor by myself and get my blood taken." Wanda kept her eyes on the floor.

"You've been alone with far too many bad doctors to not have some kind of fear. I just didn't realize how bad it was. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

Wanda finally looked up at her as they stepped into the elevator. "So we're good? You're not mad at me anymore?"

Natasha pulled her into a hug. "I was never mad, milaya. I just didn't understand. We're good."

All was well as they snuggled up under a blanket on the couch, ready to binge watch The Office until dinnertime.


	17. Mystery Client

Wanda didn't have a lot of healthy ways to handle her stress. After she got to the compound and Natasha found her wrists bleeding late one night, they had a long talk about coping strategies. She promised Wanda that they would work together to find better strategies, but neither of them were big on asking for help.

Tony told Wanda she could all the facilities in the building that she wanted to, to treat it like her own. Just don't break anything. She she turned to an old stress reliever that she hadn't gotten to indulge in for some time: baking.

She thought it would be a nice thing to do. She felt sort of guilty using the groceries that Tony had bought, but the night before at dinner, the Avengers had had a conversation about how much they missed homemade food. They ate takeout for almost every dinner. Wanda couldn't give them much, but she could certainly do homemade.

She was lying in bed staring at the ceiling one night, unable to fall asleep. She rolled over and looked at the clock. Just after one am. She sighed and got out of bed. She wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon. Her head was too loud.

She quietly headed down to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and saw what she was working with. For people that didn't cook, they sure had a lot of groceries and a well stocked pantry.

She pulled out flour and some ripened bananas and began mixing up a batter. She hummed quiet lullabies to herself that her mother used to sing to her when she couldn't sleep. The oven beeped when it hit 350. She looked through the cabinets until she found a loaf pan. There was enough batter for two. She stood at the window wall, staring out at the city, as the loaves baked. Life was all around them. There were trees and plants, and then buildings and lights beyond them. Even in the dead of night, the world was alive and awake.

She went back over and checked on the breads. She pulled them out and turned off the oven. They appeared to be fully baked. She put them on a rack to cool, then did the dishes. She always found it soothing, the repetition of the movement and watching all the crumbs from the pans drain away.

By the time she finished doing the dishes and putting them back in the cabinets, the loaves were cooled. She left them out on the counter for her teammates for breakfast the next morning and headed back to bed. About two hours had passed. Baking had calmed her mind enough to let her get a few hours of sleep.

She woke up and headed down to the kitchen, fully dressed and ready to work out. She heard the quiet hum of conversation as she got closer.

When she walked in, she was more than surprised to see the whole team seated around the kitchen, munching on banana bread.

"You've got to try this Wanda," Steve said, handing her a piece. "We don't know where it came from, but it's delicious. We think someone dropped it off for Stark." She smiled and graciously accepted the piece. It was one of her better banana breads.

This was her sweet spot. Making people happy without being in the spotlight. Her teammates not only liked her banana bread, but also gushed on about how it didn't taste store bought. Steve went as far as to say it reminded him of his mom's homemade zucchini bread. Her and Natasha started training late that day, but Natasha was in the best mood Wanda had seen her in in a long time.

Wanda found herself unable to sleep again the next night. The team had managed to finish the two banana breads the previous day. She decided to switch it up and make dinner this time.

Once again, she headed down to the kitchen and considered her options. She looked through the various noodles and rices they had and settled on simple brown rice.

She cooked it up in a saucepan before adding chopped up carrots, scallions, lentils, and some black beans. It was a great meal that her mom had made when she was little. It was a good fit for their family because the ingredients were cheap and it was a one pan dish. She had never used fresh carrots in it before. Her mother had always used canned, but she figured it couldn't be that bad.

She covered the saucepan with tin foil and put it in the fridge on a potholder. She wrote on top of the foil with a black sharpie.

Dinner :)

She had time to spare. The meal had only taken her half an hour to prepare and all she had to wash were the cutting board and knives. So she decided to make some zucchini bread too. For Steve.

That sure took up some time. She crawled back into bed after the zucchini breadwas sitting on the counter, cooling, around 3:30.

Everyone was in a great mood the next morning again. They had fairly split up the bread so that everyone got a slice. Bruce handed her a plate and fork when she walked in.

"The mystery client struck again," he told her with a smile.

Steve smiled, mid chew. "Zucchini bread."

Wanda smiled and quietly ate her piece. She was happy that they were happy. She had another great training session with Natasha.

She threw her a banana when they went into the kitchen. Neither of them ever ate heavy lunches. Sam was in there too, digging around in the fridge. He gasped dramatically and pulled out the saucepan. Natasha looked over curiously and nodded at it. "What's that?"

Sam turned his head. "It says dinner with a smiley face next to it." He pulled back the tin foil and grinned. "Looks like the mystery chef struck again. We got rice and beans for dinner y'all!" He cheered as he went down the hallway to tell everyone else.

Wanda smiled to herself and took another bite of her banana. Natasha walked around the counter and leaned across from her. She narrowed her eyes at Wanda. "That's awesome that we have a homemade dinner for tonight."

Wanda nodded. She didn't look up. "Yes, very awesome. I heard it has been awhile since some of this team has had homemade food."

Natasha nodded. "Yes, it has been. It's a really kind gesture and I'm sure they'd love to be able to thank the person doing all this."

Wanda finally changed a glance at her. Natasha smiled softly at her. "I hear you get up every night, you know. I have trouble falling asleep too."

Wanda's eyes widened and she looked around. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to cause problems here."

Natasha smiled warmly and shook her head. "You're not causing any problems, Wanda. Everyone's really thankful for the homemade foods. I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but nobody here can really cook. It's really nice of you."

Wanda blushed. "Stark will not be angry that I have been using his groceries?"

Natasha laughed. "Wanda, he doesn't even do the grocery shopping. He has someone that does that for him. He has no idea what comes in or out. Besides, what you don't use will just rot and be thrown away. It's there to be used."

Wanda nodded slowly. "So it would be alright if I kept making foods? It helps calm me down."

Natasha nodded as she poured herself a glass of water. "Of course you can keep cooking. I'm glad to hear that you've found a healthier way to handle your emotions."

She headed down the hallway towards her own room to shower, then turned around. "Oh, and Wanda? You don't have to only bake or cook or whatever at night. But I'll keep this quiet if you want me to."

Wanda smiled a bit and nodded thankfully. She was glad that Natasha was okay with her using the base's resources to cook and bake, but she didn't know if she would make anyone mad. Or if they would be mad at her for using the kitchen without permission.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. She passed Sam, Steve, and Clint heading back towards the kitchen on the way to her room.

She was reading on her bed when Natasha knocked on her doorway. "Dinner's ready. Everyone's really excited for it." She smiled at Wanda.

They headed down the hallway, where everyone was chatting excitedly. "Wanda! We're breaking out the real plates and silverware tonight," Clint said with a grin.

"My mystery client brought us dinner," Tony declared with a grin as he pulled the saucepan out of the microwave out of the oven. Wanda tried very hard not to cringe. Who put a saucepan in a microwave to heat it? No, scratch that. Who had a microwave big enough to fit an entire saucepan?

Everyone moaned about how good the meal was.

"I can't remember the last time I had real food for dinner," Natasha commented. "It's nice."

"Me neither. Have we really had takeout for every dinner for the past few months?" Steve asked.

Everyone agreed. They really had.

Bruce brought his plate to the counter for seconds. He grinned. "Look! They even left us a little smiley face." He squinted and flattened out the tin foil. "Maybe we can figure out who it is based off their hand writing. Then we could send them a thank you note."

Wanda's spoon froze for a moment, before she resumed. She doubted anyone would recognize her handwriting. All she had done was fill out some intake forms and given her a baseline of her English and science knowledge. They wouldn't notice, right?

"That's not a bad idea," Tony commented. "FRIDAY keeps a database of everyone's handwriting taht comes through here. We can run it after we finish this." He took another large spoonful.

Well she was done for. They would find out that she had been using the kitchen and kick her out. She was screwed.

Wanda did the dishes after dinner. She offered. They had a dishwasher, but she needed to do something healthy to calm her nerves. After she finished the dishes, maybe she could go to her room and start packing, not that she had much to pack. None of it was really hers.

"Alright FRI. Scan the foil," Tony said, placing it down on the coffee table. The other Avengers gathered around to watch as a blue ray of light came down from the ceiling.

Wanda tried to quietly slip out, but Natasha caught her wrist. She gave her a meaningful look and slid her fingers down her arm to hold her hand. She could feel Wanda's pulse racing under her fingers.

"It appears the handwriting belongs to Miss Maximoff," FRIDAY announced. The room turned silent. Wanda looked at her feet as everyone slowly turned to her.

She couldn't take the silence anymore. Her voice was shaky when she spoke. "I'm, Uh, I'm very sorry for using the kitchen. I'll just go pack up." She gently pulled her hand out of Natasha's and headed off down the hallway.

"Wait, kid. Come back here!" Steve yelled. She turned around, biting her lip. She was trying to hold back tears. But they were all smiling.

"You didn't tell us you could cook and bake," Clint said gently. "That's some of the best breakfast I've had in years."

"Yeah," Bruce said, grinning. "And it's the healthiest any of us have eaten in a long time. It was a really nice thing for you to do."

She looked around worriedly. No one looked angry. "So you're not mad at me?"

"Gosh no kiddo! I said you had full reign of the facilities. It's about time someone here used the kitchen," Tony said.

Wanda let out a sigh of relief.

"You didn't have to keep this a secret Wanda. Did you really think we would be mad that you were cooking for all of us?" Bruce said. She shrugged.

Clint slung an arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him, surprised. "You can cook for us any time Wanda. You're really good at it."

Wanda looked around again. They were all nodding.

"We're really glad you're here," Natasha said softly. Wanda felt her chest get warm at her words.

She made chocolate chip cookies that night as the rest of them chose a movie to watch. Tony, Bruce, and Sam watched her in amazement.

"So you what, just, have this stuff memorized?" Tony asked as she leveled off a cup of flour.

She shrugged and nodded as she added it to her dry ingredients. "I used to work at a bakery after my parents passed. Pietro and I needed money."

"What kind of bakery?" Bruce asked curiously.

Wanda had to think about that. She measured out vanilla, water, and oil absentmindedly. They just stared as she moved around the kitchen. Sam's jaw dropped when she used her powers to start stirring the wet ingredients as she dug through the cabinet for a sifter.

"It was the only bakery in Sokovia," Wanda answered. "We did wedding cakes and breads and many different sweets."

"And they let a kid do a wedding cake?" Sam asked. She nodded again, finally coming back up. She cracked the eggs with her powers and threw out the shells, floating them over to the trash can. They didn't think she even knew she was doing it.

"Not at first, but after the first year, she finally trusted me to make three tiered and higher."

Natasha was leaning in the doorway, smiling softly as she watched Wanda spin around the kitchen, assembling her cookie dough. She seemed so in her element, almost like a normal teenager. She didn't seem scared of her powers. She doubted Wanda even knew she was using them. She too was surprised to hear about Wanda's time working at the bakery. She had no idea she had made entire wedding cakes before.

Wanda brought the plate of cookies in twenty minutes later. Tony moaned dramatically as he bit in.

"They're still warm and gooey inside," Clint said, closing his eyes. Wanda smiled to herself as she set down the plate. Natasha put up her arm, indicating for Wanda to sit with her.

The plate was gone within minutes. Natasha squeezed her shoulder. She spoke quietly so no one else would hear her. "They love your food, Wanda."

Wanda smiled and burrowed closer to her. "Like I said milaya, we're so glad you're here." She pressed a kiss to the crown of Wanda's head. "I'm so glad you're here."

That night, Natasha joined Wanda in the kitchen as she threw together a blueberry buckle. She just watched in silence as Wanda worked her magic. It was comforting for both of them.

Wanda climbed into Natasha's bed with her that night after she left the buckle to cool on the counter.

"You know I meant what I said," Natasha said quietly.

Wanda shrugged. "I really want to."

That was about the response she had expected. "That's okay. I'll convince you eventually." They both enjoyed the extra warmth and comfort they provided for each other that night.

And it made Wanda very happy to watch her team absolutely devour her blueberry buckle that morning.


	18. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: FLUFF CENTRAL

The Avengers finally had some downtime in their lives. There was no huge world crises to be solved or Hydra bases to be destroyed. They finally had time to just live a little.

Of course, they still trained every day. But sometiems, they also watched movies and went out to shop and eat. For the first time in years, they all had time just to lay back and have fun.

"Wanda," Vision asked her, floating into her room. "May I come in."

She giggled. "Viz, you knock and say that from the outside before coming in."

He frowned and looked at the door. "Oh. Shall I go outside and try again?"

She laughed. "No, you're already in. Just try again next time." She closed her book and set it down beside her. "So what's up?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. Could Vision even get nervous?

"Would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight?"

Wanda blushed. "Viz," she breathed. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

He took a moment to contemplate. "Why yes, I suppose I am."

She felt herself frozen in place. She didn't even realize she was staring.

"Wanda?"

She snapped her head up, eyes wide. "Yes! Yes Viz, I'd love to go to dinner with you tonight."

"Wonderful," he answered with a grin. "We shall depart at seven for town?"

She nodded shyly. He gave her a friendly nod and headed out of her room. She looked at the clock. It was already almost six. She let out a breath, a grin spreading over her face. She rushed next door and knocked happily.

Natasha opened the door and raised her eyebrows. "Well someone looks happy."

Wanda giggled as she walked into her room. Natasha smiled. She loved seeing Wanda like this.

"Viz asked me out to dinner."

Natasha's smile widened into a grin. "Wanda, that's great!"

Wanda squealed and pulled Natasha into a hug. It caught her off guard, but Natasha held her tight.

Then Wanda pulled back. "Sorry." Natasha shook her head, still grinning.

"So where are you going? What are you going to wear? How are you doing your hair? I want all the details?"

Wanda's face fell. "I hadn't thought about that."

Natasha instantly regretted making Wanda's smile go away. She tried to keep the energy up. "That's okay. Can I help you?"

Wanda nodded. The nerves were finally getting to her. She let Natasha take her hand and lead her back into her own room.

"What if he doesn't like what I wear? I don't know where we're going! Should I have asked? What do I even wear on a date?"

Natasha smiled gently as she sat Wanda down on her bed. "Relax. He asked you out because he likes you. It doesn't matter a lot what you wear."

Wanda nodded and let out a nervous breath. "Okay. Okay. Yeah."

Natasha squeezed her hand as she sat down next to her. "Wanda, is this your first date? Ever?"

Wanda bit her lip and nodded. "No one wanted to date the homeless girl who lived on the streets."

Natasha sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. "Well, I bet your brother was a big part of that,  
too. He probably glared at any guy who dared to approach you." Wanda giggled. She smiled.

She gently pushed Wanda back. "Come on. You said he's coming to get you at seven?" Wanda nodded. "Well then we've gotta get you ready."

After many, many outfits, they decided on a simple black cotton dress and some wedge boots.

"Do you like it?" Wanda asked nervously. She had added a scarlet infinity scarf to complete the look.

"Hmm," Natasha faked contemplating. "I think I'm gonna need a twirl." She spun her finger around.

Wanda gave her a little spin, the skirt of her dress flittering about. She bit her lip and looked at Natasha, silently begging for her approval.

"You look great," Natasha assured her. "It's a really cute outfit. The scarf pulls it together. Okay, we've got half an hour to get your hair and makeup done."

She had Wanda sit cross legged on the bed in front of a mirror. Natasha stood behind her and pulled her hair into a neat waterfall braid, curling the ends that hung down below the braid. Wanda did her own makeup.

Natasha absolutely grinned when Wanda came out of the bathroom. She looked amazing. She had on mostly natural colored makeup, with slightly darker eyeshadow. The mascara made her eye lashes look much longer.

"Do I look okay?"

Natasha took her hands and led her over to the full length mirror. She rested her chin on Wanda's shoulder as they both looked at her in the mirror.

"You look beautiful, Wanda," Natasha said softly. She could see Wanda's eyes roaming herself critically. Then she smiled lightly.

"Thank you Tasha." She spun around to face her. "For everything. I really needed the help getting ready."

Natasha shrugged simply. "It was fun. We don't get to do a lot of normal and girly things together."

They checked the clock. Three minutes til date time. "Okay. Let me get a picture," Natasha said. She snapped a picture of Wanda all dressed up. This was going to be a very good memory.

As they waited in Wanda's room, Wanda suddenly gasped and shot up. "Tasha," she said, her eyes getting wide. "I've never been on a date. What do we even do? What are we supposed to talk about."

Natasha smiled. "What do you two usually talk about?" Wanda suddenly couldn't remember a single conversation she had ever had with vision. "Listen, it's gonna be fine. You're gonna have a great time. Enjoy yourself, okay?"

Wanda nodded.

"You have your phone?"

"Yes, it's in my boot."

"Is it charged?"

She checked. "Yes. I'm at 80 percent."

"And you'll call me if you need me? Or text me with updates?"

Wanda nodded, smiling. "Yes Tasha, I promise I'll call and or text you if anything goes wrong. And I'll text you when we get to the restaurant."

"And when you're on your way back?"

Wanda smiled. "Yes, and on the way back."

"May I come in?" Vision called from the hallway, then phased his way into the room.

Wanda sighed and smiled, looking at him. "So close, Viz. But you have to wait for the person in the room to respond."

He shook his head. "I apologize. There are so many customs I have yet to learn." Natasha snorted.

He smiled at them. "Hello, Natasha. Wanda, you look amazing."

She stood up and smiled, blushing slightly. "Thanks Viz. So do you." He was in khaki slacks and a sweater vest over a light blue Oxford shirt.

They stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Natasha stepped in.

"Alright you two," she said. "I want a picture, then you're gonna go. What time are your reservations for?"

Vision blinked. "Sorry?"

Natasha held back a sigh, but she couldn't help but smile. It probably didn't matter. It was a Tuesday night.

"Never mind, don't worry about it. Now get together."

She took a picture of them, with Vision's hand wrapped respectfully around her waist and her arm around his back.

Natasha smiled at the picture. "Text anyone here is you need help or anything happens. And keep me updated. And lastly, have fun."

She watched them walk out the front door down the street, arms linked. It was a nice night.

Tony came and stood next to her. He sighed. "Crazy kids."

Natasha hummed her agreement. She was so happy for Wanda. Her first date. She really hoped it would go well. Then she turned to Tony.

"Did you give him money?"

Tony nodded. "He has my credit card. I told him to go crazy and buy her some flowers, too."

They watched their kids walk off into the distance, heading into town.

Natasha was waiting in her bed calmly by midnight. Wanda had indeed texted her. When they got to the restaurant and when they left. She even sent her a selfie of her and Vision. She had a flower tucked behind her ear, and was smiling radiantly. Vision was grinning ear to ear, his arms wrapped around her waist. She was glad they were enjoying themselves.

Wanda sent her a text they were on their way home. That was at 11:30. She knew it wasn't exactly a short walk back to the compound from town and she was sure they were taking their time. But she couldn't help but feel a pang of worry deep in her chest.

Finally, she heard Wanda come down the hallway. She walked through Natasha's open door. She was smiling dreamily.

Natasha sat up and crossed her legs as Wanda sat down on her bed. "So how'd it go?"

"It was wonderful," Wanda said softly. She had on a smile that she couldn't seem to wipe off her face.

"Tell me everything, from the moment you left."

Wanda walked Natasha through her entire evening, through what they ordered to dinner to their walk through the park afterwards. She told Natasha about the single red carnation Vision stopped and bought from a flower cart because he said it was just like her, deeply beautiful but also unimaginably powerful. He told her the color looked like her powers. Then she told Natasha about ever other detail from their walk through the city.

Natasha, of course, was listening to what Wanda was saying, but she was more focused on Wanda's face. She wasn't sure she had seen her so happy before. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and happiness. Her eyes were bright and her smile lit up the room and didn't leave her face.

By the end of the story, both of them were grinning uncontrollably and in their feet. Wanda had to bounce on the balls of her feet. She just couldn't stay still. She was standing in front of Natasha, recounting her evening.

Wanda squealed a little and pounced on Natasha for a hug. This time, she was ready. She caught Wanda into a tight hug and spun her around in a little circle. Wanda giggled wildly. Natasha even laughed a little.

"It was amazing, Tasha. I think I really like him."

Natasha smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind Wanda's ear. "I'm so glad. He's a good guy. Or, well, you know what I mean."

Wanda showered and changed into pajamas before heading back into Natasha's room. She was way too wound up and excited to go to bed. They turned on reruns on the cooking channel. Natasha stroked Wanda's hair, her head in her lap, until she drifted off to sleep, her head filled with magical memories. Natasha couldn't be happier that her Wanda had finally had her first date and that it had gone so well. Wanda was finally getting a normal teenaged moment and it made her inexplicably happy. She was even happier that she got to be a part of it.


	19. Mom

Wanda and Natasha were curled up on the couch in the common room watching a movie. It had become a pretty common occurrence for them. Both of them needed more time together with each other. Natasha loved having another woman at the compound and Wanda loved having a female friend and mother figure.

As the credits rolled across the screen, Natasha stood up and stretched. They had been on a five mile run that morning and decided they deserved a light afternoon. They had already had their afternoon session. They decided to watch a movie to unwind.

"Want a snack?" Natasha offered. Wanda nodded and followed her into the kitchen. Natasha threw her an apple.

"You know, as those cheesy hallmark movies go, that was one of the better ones," Wanda commented, leaning against the counter.

"I agree," Natasah said, "but I don't think they'll ever top that Christmas one, with the German shepherd?"

"The Christmas Shepherd!" Wanda said happily. "Yes, that was a good one. So what shall we do now? It is still early."

Natasha looked at the clock. It wasn't even three yet. "Wanna go sit outside for awhile? The weather's really nice."

"Sure."

They sat in the little garden that Pepper insisted on adding to the compound. There was a bench, but they opted to lie on the grass instead.

Wanda laughed as Natasha pointed out another cloud. "How could you call that a dog?"

Natasha scoffed and grinned. "It has a snout and legs and a tail! How do you not see it!"

They made up increasingly ridiculous and detailed observations of the clouds that floated by.

Natasha pointed at a cloud. "Pot of chili with a ladel handle sticking out of it."

Wanda sat up and looked at her. "I was gonna say a pasta pot with a ladel!"

That gave them a good laugh. Natasha sighed contentedly as she took in the day. It was a warm spring day. The ground was soft beneath them, blades of grass brushing about their bare legs and arms.

"I'm so glad we decided to do this," Natasha said, closing her eyes.

"Me too, mom."

Wanda immediately heard herself and felt her pulse pick up. Natasha's eyes flew open.

"Uh, sorry, I don't know why that came out my mouth." Wanda got to her feet.

Natasha was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth. Then decided on, "Wanda, don't go. It's not a big deal."

But Wanda shook her head, quickly paling. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." Tears blurred her vision as she made her way back to the compound. She had messed everything up.

The thought to follow her only occurred to Natasha when Wanda opened the doors to the compound and slipped inside. She got to her feet and sighed. She had absolutely no idea how to respond. She walked off to find Wanda.

Wanda tucked herself into the back of the supply closet on the second floor. It was a weird habit that the team had noticed. She seemed terrified of small spaces unless she was the one to get herself into and out of them. Closets seemed to be her go to whenever she got scared or overwhelmed at the compound. She turned on the light and pulled her knees to her chest, calming herself down. She had really done it this time. There was no way Natasha would continue to want to spend time with her now. Wanda was way too embarrassed to ever look her in the eye again. Why had she done it? Called Natasha her mom? She hadn't called anyone by that name in almost ten years. Gosh, she hated herself. She would never forgive herself for this. She messed up the one thing that she loved most in her life at the moment.

Natasha was mentally kicking herself. She really hadn't said anything to Wanda after she said it. Sure, she was caught off guard, but really? It's not a big deal? Clearly, it was. They really needed to talk about that. But instead, she had just let Wanda run off. She probably thought that she hated her.

She had checked Wanda's room, her room, and now all the closets on the first floor.

"Hey Nat, dinner's ready. Can you go tell Wanda? I can't find her." Clint looked at her innocently. She turned around to face him, a hand scrubbing over her face. "Hey Nat, you alright?"

She sighed. "No. I really messed up, Clint. I don't even know where Wanda is."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay Nat, take a breath. I'm sure she's fine, right?" He put his hands on her shoulders. She nodded.

"Good. Now let's talk."

Natasha didn't tell him that Wanda called her mom. She was sure Wanda was embarrassed and don't see the need to spread the incident.

"She said something that caught me off guard and I didn't really react. At all. She probably thinks I hate her or that I'm mad at her."

"Well, you're not, right? And you can tell her that when you find her. Do you wanna tell me what she said?"

Natasha hesitated. She really doubted Wanda would want anyone to know. "I don't think I should. She's probably embarrassed as it is. How do I talk to her?"

Clint shrugged. "I can't help a ton if I don't have specifics, but you're usually pretty good with her. I don't see why now should be any different. Just talk to her."

He noted her skeptical look. "God Nat, how bad was it?"

She sighed again. She really had no idea what to do. "She called me mom." She looked at him miserably.

Clint smiled gently. "That's it? That's what this is about? Do you know how many times the kids have accidentally called their teachers mom at school?"

Natasha shook her head. "So this is, what, normal?"

Clint shrugged. "I guess. Some of Lila's friends have accidentally called Laura mom before. They always get embarrassed, but it's not like they did anything wrong. She's a sensitive kid, Nat. She probably feels vulnerable and rejected right now. Just talk it out. It'll help if you get a little vulnerable with her, too."

She really didn't want to. Being vulnerable was hard. But she would do anything for Wanda.

"And you swear that will help her?" He nodded and turned to walk away.

"Yeah. Just talk to her." He turned back to her and winked. "And for the record, we never had this conversation." She gave him a grateful smile and headed up to the second floor.

She finally saw light coming from under the door of one of the supply closets and breathed a sigh of relief. She knocked on it lightly.

"Wanda, can I come in?"

"Uh, okay."

She slipped inside, making sure to pull the door closed behind her. She slid down the wall across from Wanda, who wouldn't meet her eyes.

"To start, I'm not upset with you, Wanda." She continued to look at her. "Will you please look at me?"

Wanda sighed and slowly lifted her head and met Natasha's eyes. Her face was beet red.

"I know you're embarrassed, but you don't have to be. I know you didn't mean to say it and I'm sorry I didn't react better. You just caught me off guard," Natasha said.

Wanda nodded. "I know I did. I'm really sorry. I don't know where that came from. I didn't mean to."

"Hey, relax. It's really okay. I know you didn't. Lila's called her teacher mom a few times. It happens." Natasha sighed. "I didn't mean to freak out. It's just," she hesitated and looked away. "I've never imagined myself as a mom. I can't biologically have kids. I never imagined I'd ever have someone call he that."

Wanda wrapped her arms a little tighter around her knees and rested her chin on them. "For the record, you'd be a really good mom. You're just not mine."

Natasha blushed a little at her words. "I don't think so. I’m an assassin."

Wanda shrugged. "And I’m a teenaged witch. Why can’t you be both? You're warm and know how to push people to their limits. And you always know just what to say."

Natasha chuckled lightly. "I think that's the first time anyone has ever called me warm."

Wanda shrugged. "Well, it's true." She picked at a loose thread on her jeans. "I mean, I would never want to replace my mom. She was amazing and kind and loving, but," her voice got much quieter and she blushed again. "you've kind of been like my mom since I've been here." She gulped, not daring to look up. "Best foster mom I've ever had."

Natasha had no idea what to say. Wanda thought of her like a mother? She knew she couldn't make the same mistake again and say nothing, so she said what she was thinking. She swallowed hard. Talking wasn't usually this hard for her. "Would it be weird if I told you that sometimes, it feels like you could be my daughter?"

Wanda looked up at her, biting her lip. She shook her head no. "Not at all."

"So would it also not be weird if I hugged you now?"

Wanda giggled and shook her head no again. She leaned forwards into Natasha's arms. She relaxed against her chest, turning her head so she could listen to Natasha's heartbeat. She hadn't been held so tenderly in a very long time.

Natasha closed her eyes as she braced one hand against Wanda's back and combed the other gently through her long hair. She let herself smile.

She never imagined that she would be anywhere close to a mother, yet here she was. She knew she wasn't Wanda's mom and that Wanda was not her daughter. They both knew that. But in the moment, sitting on the floor of a supply closet, holding Wanda in her arms, she had never felt more motherly.

"I love you Wanda," she said softly.

"I love you too, Tasha."

Wanda no longer had a mom and Natasha could never have a biological daughter, but that didn't mean they couldn't pretend, even if only for a minute, that their lives hadn't gone so horribly wrong along the way.


	20. Dress Code

The Avengers had decided that Wanda needed to go to high school. She certainly wasn't excited for it. She hadn't been to school or had the formal education in such a long time. Diving right into high school seemed more than unreasonable to her, but they decided she had to go, despite she only had the formal knowledge up to fifth grade.

Natasha was not happy when she was called to Wanda's school within the first week. She answered her cell phone during training, heart racing. Had someone hurt her? Had she had a panic attack? Had she hurt someone? No, no, that would never happen.

Natasha took a deep breath before answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Miss Romanoff, this is Mr. Finch, Wanda's principal. I'm afraid you'll need to come down and pick her up for the day."

"Is she alright? What happened?"

She heard the principal sigh. "She has violated the rules clearly stated in the student handbook. Please be here as soon as you can."

"Of course. I'll be right there." Natasha hung up and stared at her phone for a few seconds.

"Who was that?" Steve asked. She turned to the team.

"Wanda's principal. He said she violated some rule in the student handbook."

Tony whistled. "I never took her for a troublemaker."

"She's not," Clint said, puzzled. "That girl is terrified of breaking the rules and getting in trouble. Go easy on her Nat."

She nodded as she headed off to change into jeans and a blouse. The more she thought, the more irritated she got. Wanda knew she had a full day of training. She had told her she didn't care how she did in her classes as long as she tried her best. But she had also made it very clear to stay out of trouble. What had Wanda done?

She couldn't decide if she was more irritated or curious as she headed over to the school. She knew Wanda never responded well when she got mad and that she was a really good kid. She also knew that rationally, it was very unlikely Wanda that would purposely break a rule unless it was for a very good reason. But really? The Friday of week one?

She pulled in and found a spot in the visitor's lot. The black BMW looked very out of place among the others. She squared her shoulders and headed into the building.

She stopped at the small reception area, armed by an older looking woman with glasses and white hair. She looked down her nose at Natasha. "Miss Romanoff?"

"Yes. I'm here about Wanda?"

The woman nodded. "I'll go check if they're ready for you." She glared at Natasha. "I can't believe you'd let her leave the house like this."

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows as she watched the woman disappear behind some doors. She had eaten breakfast with Wanda that morning before she went off to school. She had seemed fine. What changed?

The woman came back out. "Fourth door down on your left." She pointed to the hallway next to her. Natasha thanked her quietly as she headed off. She had seemed rude. If he was going to be anything like his receptionist, she wasn't sure she was ready to meet the principal.

She knocked on the door. The principal pulled it open within a second. He looked at her coldly. "Miss Romanoff. Please come in."

It was a small office. There were two chairs set in front of his desk. Wanda looked at her anxiously as she walked in. She was pale.

"I'm sorry," Wanda whispered. Natasha out a hand on her back comfortingly. Now she was really curious.

"Miss Romanoff," the principal began, "you signed off on the fact that Wanda had read the student handbook, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Well it appears she didn't."

Natasha looked down at Wanda. The poor kid was trembling. "Wanda, did you read the handbook?" She nodded.

Natasha looked up at the principal. "I trust her. If she says she read it, she read it. What happened?"

He clasped his hands and leaned against the desk, frowning deeply. "At Easton High, we pride ourselves on enforcing that our students' dress in a way that promotes self respect and does nothing interfere with others' abilities to learn."

She looked at him blankly. "Alright."

"As you can see, Wanda has violated our school's dress code, which is laid out very clearly in the student handbook."

She moved around the chair and looked at Wanda. She was wearing black converse with dark blue skinny jeans. She had on a deep purple, open shouldered top with bell sleeves. Her hair was braided off to one side and hung loosely over her shoulder.

Natasha turned back to the Mr. Finch. "She looks fine to me."

He gave her a disapproving look and pulled out a copy of the student handbook. He opened it to a tabbed page.

"As you can see here, Miss Romanoff, shirts that expose one's shoulders are not allowed here."

"Are you joking?" Natasha just stared at him for a minute. Then she leaned over and read the line he was pointing to. It turned out he was indeed not joking.

"Why are shoulders outlawed in this school?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms. She stared right into the principal's eyes. She wasn't scared of him.

"We believe that the young women here should show some self respect and cover up, so as to not distract their male classmates."

Natasha could feel anger building in her chest. "Shoulders are distracting? Why?"

Wanda tried to reach for her hand, but Natasha wasn't having it. "Please tell me Mr. Finch, why are Wanda's shoulder so distracting, hm? And are you implying that women who show their skin don't have any self respect?"

"Miss Romanoff!" He declared loudly, standing up. Wanda flinched. "I will not be spoken to like this is my own office. The young men of this school should be able to focus on their academics and not be distracted by their female counterparts deciding they'd like to show off their bodies. Any self respecting person would agree that dressing appropriately includes having consideration for others.

"Tasha," Wanda said quietly. She knew this wasn't going to end well. Natasha shushed her as she grasped the edges of Mr. Finch's desk.

"I am so sorry that a teenaged girl wearing an open shouldered top is so distracting to her male classmates." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "And I truly apologize for setting a bad example at home and teaching Wanda that she is not an object to be sexualized by men. I can see now that our values may not like up with those of Easton High. But I'm so glad to hear that sexism and the sexialization of young girls still lives on in America's public schools." She stared evenly into Mr. Finch's eyes, daring him to say anything.

He stared angrily back at her. He raised his voice. "Miss Romanoff, in all my years of being in education, I have never been spoken to in this manner before. I cannot believe the amount of disrespect that you show when speaking to those around you. How dare you speak to me this way. At Easton high, we enforce values that will result in our students being prepared for the real world after graduation."

Natasha scoffed. "You got that right, Finch. I just didn't know they started girls this young on learning to hate yourself for the comfort and pleasure of men. I'll be emailing you for Wanda's transcript within the next seven days. She'll be transferring schools."

Mr. Finch's draw absolutely dropped. Natasha turned to Wanda, who was looking at her wide eyed, deathly pale. "Let's go Wanda."

Wanda gave the principal one last look before leaving his office. He was still sitting there, open mouthed, speechless.

She tried to keep up with Natasha as she stormed off down the hallway. She kept silent until they got to the car.

She climbed into the passenger seat and looked at Natasha, who was staring with clenched teeth at the driving wheel. "Tasha? I'm sorry."

Natasha blinked and snapped out of it. "What?"

Wanda bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I know you had training today and that I interrupted you in the middle of it and-"

"Wanda," Natasha said. She was still furious. "I'm sorry for sending you here. First off, there's nothing wrong with the way you're dressed. You look nice. Secondly, you're not the one to blame." She started the car. "It's that sexist pig they dare call a principal."

Wanda felt that she probably shouldn't say anything as they drove back towards the compound.

"What did he say before I got there?" Natasha asked. Wanda bit her lip, thinking about the nicest way to frame it.

Natasha gave her a sideways glance. "You can tell me what really happened. You're not going back there anyway."

Wanda nodded. It's not like she would have to see Mr. Finch again.

"Mr. Harrison sent me to the principals office when I walked into history class. I didn't understand why and I tried to ask him but he just glared at me. Then Mr. Finch said that showing my shoulders was against the rules and that I was not allowed to dress so," she paused and tried to remember the word. "Proconative?"

Natasha took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Provocative?"

Wanda nodded. "Yeah, that. He said that I was, uh, demonstrating a lack of self respect and consideration for the boys in my classes and asked me to put on a jacket. When I said I didn't have one, he said he had to call you so I could go home and change."

Natasha nodded and gripped the steering wheel a little bit tighter. "Don't listen to a word he said Wanda. He's wrong. Any guy that gets distracted by someone's shoulders has far bigger issues."

When they pulled into the parking garage, Wanda got out and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She squealed in surprise when Natasha grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the elevator. "Come with me."

They got off and stepped into the kitchen, where the whole team was eating lunch.

"Hey, you're ba-"

"Shut up Clint," Natasha growled. He exchanged a look with Steve.

"Wanda, put down your backpack and come here." Wanda did as she was told. Natasha was beyond angry.

"Now spin around." She felt awkward, standing in the middle of the room in front of everyone as they watched her.

"Now tell me, is there anything wrong with her outfit?"

The room was silent as they all wracked their brains.

Steve shrugged. "She looks nice."

"Yeah, purple really goes with her skin tone," Bruce added.

Natasha closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

"What the hell happened at school?" Sam asked.

"She got dress coded," Natasha ground out, "for wearing an open shouldered top. Her asshole of a principal said that it demonstrates," she turned to Wanda. "Tell them."

She turned awkwardly back to the team. "Uh, a lack of self respect and consideration for the boys in my classes."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "School dress codes are getting worse every year."

"He told her that she was dressed provocatively. It's her shoulders for God's sake! Why is this pervert even staring at her shoulders! Are any of you wildly distracted and unable to focus on eating because you can see her bare shoulders?"

Wanda bit her lip and played with her bracelets as she stared at the ground. Her face was growing hot.

"That's gotta be one of the dumbest rules I've ever heard," Steve said. "For the record Wanda, you look fine."

"Yeah," Sam piped up. "Seriously. What kind of school is this?"

"Dress codes have been around forever," Clint told him. "American public schools are basically stuck in the 1900s. What they teach in academics they destroy with life knowledge."

Silence bathed over the room as everyone took in the idea of Wanda being sent home from school for wearing an open shouldered shirt.

"Um, can I go to my room?" Wanda asked hesitantly. Natasha looked at her and realized how nervous she still looked.

"Yeah, of course you can. Sorry. Don't bother doing your homework, you're not going back there."

Wanda nodded, abandoning her backpack and speeding off down the hallway.

"She's not going back there?" Sam asked.

Natasha nodded. "I told her principal that she'll be transferring and that I'll emai him within the next week for her transcript."

"Don't you think that's a little bit drastic, Nat?" Bruce asked cautiously.

"Don't you think it's a little bit drastic that her current school is teaching her that women are objects to be sexualized?" She snapped.

"Hey, he's not trying to start a fight," Clint commented. "You know, pretty much all schools have a dress code. And, don't kill me, but most of the are gonna be exactly like this one's."

She blinked. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "It all stops when you go to college, thankfully, but high schools suck. But you certainly can't go back to Easton high after you went off on her principal."

Natasha looked at him defensively, hands on her hips. "I didn't say I went off on her principal."

"Well did you?"

She looked at the ground guiltily. "Yes."

"Maybe she can go to Peter's school," Tony suggested. "I'll look into it."

"For now," Steve piped up, "go talk to Wanda. You're really mad and she probably thinks at least some of it is directed at her."

He was right, of course. She made her way to Wanda's room.

"Wanda, I'm not mad at you," Natasha began, sitting down next to her. She noticed Wanda had changed into a sweatshirt. Her heart dropped. "I'm really mad at the situation and at your principal for thinking that it's okay to treat you and the other girls at that school the way he does. Because it's not okay, Wanda. I really want you to know that."

Wanda nodded half heartedly, looking up at her. "I know deep down there was nothing wrong with how I was dressed, but he made me feel like I was doing something really wrong. After he pointed out that I was breaking the dress code, I felt really uncomfortable wearing that shirt."

Natasha pulled her into a side hug, rubbing her shoulder with her thumb. "No one should ever make you feel uncomfortable for whatever you choose to wear, Wanda. I'm really sorry that happened today."

Wanda shrugged. "It's not your fault." She sat up a little bit straighter. "And I think that you set a great example of values for me here."

Natasha laughed a little. "I'm not sure you're learning all the right values, you know, living with two former assassins and the rest, but I'm glad you feel that way. I'd never forgive myself if I let you walk around feeling like you can't dress how you want because you'd be lacking self respect."

Wanda giggled. "For a former assassin, you do have good values, Tasha. No school can ever change them for me."

Natasha nodded. She was glad to hear it. "Lunch?"

"Can we watch something first? I don't feel great."

Natasha knew what she meant. Wanda didn't have to elaborate.She had been through a rollercoaster of emotions that day, and Wanda got nauseous when her feelings got too big. They had thought it was normal anxiety, but her powers definitely heightened them.

"Of course we can, Wands." Natasha stretched out on Wanda's bed, laying down next to her, and turned on Comedy Central. They watched old episodes of Impractical Jokers until she was calm enough to eat something.


	21. Driving

"Wanda, could you go to the store and grab some sponges and paper towels? We're all out," Sam asked, digging around under the sink.

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. She was pretty sure the grocery store was at least six miles away.

"Um, alright." She headed towards the door.

Steve raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't you need keys?"

She looked at him blankly. "Keys?"

Natasha and Steve exchanged a look. "For the car?" Steve prodded.

"Oh." Wanda felt her face turn red. "I don't think I can drive. I don't have a license."

Sam came out from under the sink. "Really? I guess I never thought about it. Have you ever been behind the wheel of a car before?"

Wanda shook her head slowly. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry. You've really never driven a car before?" Steve asked curiously.

"No. My parents couldn't afford one when I was little. I've never been in one before."

Natasha's eyebrows rose slightly. She hadn't expected Wanda to have ever driven before, but she had never even been in a car?

"Come on," Natasha told her. "I'll drive us to the store. You can try another day."

Wanda's eyes widened. "Try driving?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

She and Wanda stared at each other for another minute. "Okay."

Natasha grabbed a key FOB and headed down to the garage. Wanda followed close behind.

Wanda cautiously opened the passenger side door and climbed in. She looked around in amazement.

Natasha let herself smile at Wanda's behavior for a moment before climbing in and closing the door behind her. She still had a childlike wonder about her.

"Seat belt," Natasha said, buckling herself in. It took her a minute, but Wanda mimicked the action.

The door opened and Natasha slowly pulled out. Wanda had obviously seen cars before. She knew how they moved and how fast they could go, but she guessed they didn't go very fast when the streets were so crowded with the homeless.

Wanda looked out the window, watching the world whiz by in vibrant greens, the sky a light shade of blue. 

"I can't believe we haven't taken you anywhere yet," Natasha said. "So you haven't seen New York City even though we live less than ten miles from it. Have you seen any pictures?" Wanda shook her head.

Natasha smiled to herself. "Maybe we can get lunch while we're there."

Natasha turned on some soft music and let Wanda look out the window. She supposed it had to be pretty amazing if you had never been in a car before.

She pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and parked. "Okay, sponges and paper towels. Maybe we can get some snacks too."

Wanda stayed close to her throughout the trip. Natasha realized Wanda had never been in an American grocery store before either. So many firsts.

They walked out of the grocery store with only two bags. They did get packs of sponges and paper towels, but also a pack of Oreos and a bag of Doritos.

"Wanna get lunch?" Natasha asked. Wanda nodded. "What are you in the mood for?"

Wanda shrugged. "What kind of lunches are offered here?"

Of course. She probably also hadn't had access to Italian, Indian, Chinese, and more, all within a mile of each other.

"There's a little cafe on the corner. We could do coffee and muffins."

Wanda agreed that that sounded like a nice plan. She knew Wanda was overwhelmed from the shopping trip and wanted to choose somewhere small that wouldn't be too crowded.

"So what do you think? You could get behind the wheel tomorrow and just go around the tarmac," Natasha proposed.

Wanda shrugged, tearing off a piece of her chocolate chip muffin. "Are you sure it is okay? I don't want to hurt anyone or break anything."

Natasha waved her hand. "The first thing I'll show you is where the brake is and I'll be right there with you." She decided to leave out that she would have no control once Wanda was the one in the driver's seat. "You'll be fine. Also, I don't think you understand how filthy rich Stark is. We could crash ten of his fancy BMWs and he would barely take a hit financially. Don't worry about it."

Wanda looked at her skeptically. "If you're sure."

Natasha winked at her. "I'm sure."

The drive back to the coumpound was quiet again, the light pop music playing in the background. It was nice. Comfortable. Wanda liked watching the world go by past her. She got to sit still and watch everything around her move.

They trained for a while that afternoon before dinner. Wanda was a little off balance, distracted by the next day's looming presence. She wasn't ready to hold that much power.

Bright and early the next morning, Wanda headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. Natasha was already there, munching on an apple. She smiled.

"Hey kiddo. Ready to learn how to drive?"

Wanda shrugged unenthusiastically. "I don't think so."

Natasha smirked. "Well I think you are. Nothing terrible is going to happen. Okay?"

She nodded, unconvinced. "Okay."

Natasha threw away her core and put her hands on Wanda's shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life, Tasha."

Her hands dropped. "Glad to hear it. Now let's go."

Wanda finished her pear as they got into the garage. Natasha gestured for her to climb into the driver's seat. Wanda was very careful not to put her feet anywhere near the pedals. Natasha climbed into the passenger's seat.

The corners of her mouth turned up at Wanda's caution. "The car isn't even on. I promise it won't move until it is, no matter what you press."

She nodded, eyes roaming the dashboard nervously.

"So most of this," Natasha pointed to the various dashboards across the board, "you're not going to use. Ever. Some of it is stupid stuff Stark added. So don't worry about any of that."

Wanda nodded. "None of them?"

"This one is what you use to turn the car on and off. That's the only one you have to know for now. See the picture on it?"

Wanda leaned in to expect the button. She ran her finger lightly over the button, making sure not to push it. Then she pulled back and nodded.

"At your feet, feel for the two pedals. One in the middle, one's on the far right. Far right is acceleration. Middle is brake. Never use your left foot."

She let Wanda look down at her feet, feeling around for the pedals.

"You can press them right now to get a feel. They don't go on very far because the car isn't on."

They finished going through everything else she absolutely needed to know. Turn signals, adjusting the seat, where her hands went on the wheel, and turning the mirrors.

"You feel like you know wherre the controls are? Which one's the brake and which one's for acceleration?" Wanda nodded.

"Good." She pressed a button on the roof of the car. The garage door receded into the ceiling. "Pull us out."

She talked Wanda through shifting gears, all the while making sure her foot stayed firmly pressed to the brake. They finally got the car into drive.

"Okay. Now take your foot off the brake. Don't presss the accelerator yet."

Wanda sucked in her breath as the car very, very slowly lurched forwards. Natasha tried not to smile at how nervous Wanda was. The sweet girl.

"Now very lightly press on the accelerator."

They started to go faster. Wanda gripped the wheel tighter. One of the many pros of Natasha being the one to teach Wanda how to drive was her ability to stay calm in virtually any situation.

"Good. Now slow us down and press the brake."

Wanda pressed hard on the brake. Her and Natasha both slammed forwards agaisnt their seat belts. "Sorry!" She turned to Natasha fearfully. "I'm sorry."

Natasha smiled and shook her head. "That's okay Wanda. You can push on the brake just as easily as you push on the accelerator to slow us down gradually, yeah? You okay?"

Wanda nodded. "Now take a deep breath and sit up straight. You can do this. Take us up and make a right turn onto the landing strip. Make a full stop before the turn."

She sat up a little bit straighter, squared her shoulders, and took a deep breath. She then eased them forward to the landing strip, stopped, and made the right. "Nice. Now keep going. Turn left at the end of the strip."

Wanda did as she was told, forever aiming to please. She did everything right. Her turns were as tight as those of any new driver. Her stops got more gradual. She even went a little faster when Natasha prompted her to. She used her turn signals appropriately. She was a nervous driver, but seemed like a good one. Natasha offered to pull the car back into the garage after an hour of driving around. All in all, it was a good experience. Natasha didn't bring up the fact they didn't get above 20 mph. So she went slow. She was obviously nervous. It was better than her speeding. She would go faster as she gained confidence.

Wanda let out a breath of relief when Natasha offered to pull the car back into the garage. She decided that she didn't like driving. It made her feel far more anxious than usual.

Natasha pulled slowly into the garage and shifted them into park before turning off the car. She looked over at Wanda. "You did great, Wanda. Really well for your first time."

Wanda gave her a wan smile in return. "Thank you Tasha."

Natasha noticed that Wanda was much paler than she had been when they first got in the car. They all knew Wanda had anxiety. She knew she would probably need to get Wanda on some medicines to calm her down before she could drive on the highway. But she didn't need to focus on that now.

Steve high fived Wanda when they walked into the common room. "Was that you driving out there Wanda?" She nodded.

"Come on Steve," Tony added, "Nat would never go that slow."

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me? Was that meant to insult me or her?"

Tony gaped and looked at Steve for help. Steve smirked and put up his hands. "You're on your own, Tones."

Tony tried to stutter out a response before Natasha took Wanda's hand and pulled her out of the room. "If he can't come up with a response, you know it was meant to insult both of us."

"No!" Tony yelled from down the hallway. "Don't listen to her kid! No one was insulted in this here kitchen today!" Wanda giggled but didn't turn around.

"So what did you think of your first time behind the wheel?" Natasha asked her, settling on her bed and absentmindedly flipping through the channels.

Wanda shrugged. "I'm not sure I understand the joy of driving. It feels," she searched for the right word to use. "Nerve making."

Natasha didn't correct her English. She had done enough that day, so she deserved a break. "It certainly can be at first. It'll get better the more you do it."

Wanda turned to her with wide eyes. "When must I do that again?"

Natasha laughed. "If you really don't want to, then not for awhile. But you probably should watch some other people drive. Sit in the passenger's seat and watch."

Wanda nodded. That sounded much better to her than driving.

Her heart was still racing even after getting out of the car. It finally started to slow when Natasha pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "I know driving makes you feel anxious, but it's a good skill to have. We'll figure something out, alright?"

She nodded. "Alright." Wanda trusted Natasha. If she said they could figure something out, then they would figure something out. She let herself relax into her arms. And even if they didn't figure something out, then she knew she could count on Natasha to be there to catch her.


	22. Bullies

Wanda had decided that she didn't like school. Again. She had been at Midtown High for about a month now, after being forced to transfer out of her old one. The kids weren't very nice and she felt beyond dumb. Her history teacher always got mad when she asked questions (who chose to sign her up for US history when she wasn't even from the US?) and her English teacher constantly tore her apart and told her to speak in "proper English."

Her only friends so far were Peter and his friend group. They didn't share any classes together, as all of them were more in advanced ones than her, but they all sat together at lunch every day. MJ had been glad to have another girl in the group and they all agreed that four was a good number to have in a friend group.

But that also meant Flash started attacking her too. Making fun of her accent and calling her dumb and stupid. She didn't do the best in any of her classes but Natasha always told her that was okay. She had gotten a late start on formal education and diving in after almost ten years of not having any was going to be rough.

School sucked. Yeah, she didn't have any friends in her classes. Yeah, everyone was pretty mean to her, even the teachers. And yeah, she certainly didn't fit in. But she certainly didn't dare tell Natasha any of that.

It was the Friday before Columbus Day and Wanda wanted nothing more than the day to be over. The teachers didn't even seem to notice her getting picked on anymore. It was getting worse and worse.

"This weekend, my parents are taking us out on our yacht," one particularly bratty girl, Eliza, announced at the end of biology.

"We're doing a weekend at my dad's cabin in Maine," said another one of her groupies. Then she looked to her. "And what are you doing Wanda? Are your parents going to take you back to wherever they got you from?" All the girls giggled.

Wanda really wanted to just ignore them, but that didn't seem like an option. The last time she had ignored them, they ripped one of her essays in half. "I don't think we have any plans this weekend," Wanda said quietly, fiddling with her rings.

"I heard she doesn't even have parents," said Eliza's boyfriend, coming over to join the group.

Eliza gasped, an evil glint appearing in her eye as the bell went off. Wanda made eye contact with Peter, who appeared in the doorway, ready to walk to lunch with her.

"If I were a parent, I wouldn't want her either." Wanda could feel her heart sinking and her pulse speeding up. She really missed her family.

"Come on Wanda," Peter said quietly, glaring at Eliza and her group.

"I bet they died just to get away from you!" She called down the hallway after them.

Wanda could take the name calling and people making fun of her. She put up with them making fun of her body and hair and clothing and accent and jewelry and every other thing someone could possibly insult about her. But her family? She didn't think she could handle that.

Wanda didn't look back as she walked with Peter. She could feel herself growing light headed as they didn't let up.

"Imagine being so unlucky."

"They must have been so disappointed."

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"No wonder she's so stupid."

"No one cares about you."

Wanda tried very hard to push away the tears dwelling in her eyes. She could just imagine Natasha telling her not to let them get to her.

She had to stop and close her eyes. The hallway was spinning. She stumbled a bit and put her hand on the wall. Peter immediately was at her side. "You okay? They're just jerks."

"Girls, is there a problem?" Ms. Chen asked. She was Wanda's mandarin teacher. It was easily her best class and she was Wanda's only teacher who didn't outwardly express her disappointment in her for not knowing the basics. It was a 101 class. Everyone started at the same level.

She quickly noticed Wanda gasping for breath. "Wanda, are you alright?"

She exchanged a panicked glance with Peter.

Eliza innocently batted her eyelashes. "I think she was just walking too fast, Miss Chen. She gets out of breath easily."

Miss Chen straightened up and crossed her arms. "Really Eliza? Are you sure it's not because of you and your little friends' comments?"

The girls looked at each other.

"Do you think I'm deaf? I could hear you from my classroom all the way down the hall. You're not exactly being subtle."

The girls were frozen in place. Wanda still couldn't catch her breath. She shook her head as Peter put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. I think we're all going to take a little trip to see Mr. Morita."

Wanda's stomach flipped painfully. Natasha would be furious if she ended up in trouble with the principal.

"But Miss Chen!" Eliza whined. "We weren't doing anything wrong. We were just saying the truth."

The woman turned around so suddey that Eliza stepped backwards. "She is not stupid, she is cared for, and I'm not sure it's any of your business what her life is like at home. Not to mention you have absolutely no right to walk around here taunting another student. I'm going to assume this is not the first time this has occurred. Bullying is a serious offense, Eliza. Now come along. You too Britney, Chad, and Rachel." They are least had the sense to look regretful as they followed Miss Chen.

She was much more gentle when speaking to Peter and Wanda. "You two should come too." Wanda just shook her head again, grasping at her chest. She couldn't breathe. Air wasn't coming in.

Miss Chem saw the issue and prompted the group to get themselves to the principal's office. She would be there in a minute.

"Wanda, dear? Can you talk to us?" Wanda shook her head, a tear running down her cheek as she gasped for another breath.

"I think she's having a panic attack," Peter said quietly. "They've been ruthless ever since she got here, Miss Chen."

She gave him a grim look. "I'm very sorry to hear that. I wish I had caught it sooner. I'm familiar with Miss Maximoff's family history and I'm sure you are too. Those students are very far out of line and they will be punished."

She waited a minute. "Wanda, do you think you can come with us? Or you and Peter could sit in my classroom for a little while, maybe calm down? I can call your guardian. She can come pick you up. You've had a rough day."

Wanda shook her head, taking another gasping breath. "She'll be mad."

Peter shook his head and took her hand, leading her off down the hallway. "No she won't. It'll be fine. Thanks Miss Chen. Room 308, right?"

She gave him a tight smile and nodded before heading off to the office. She stopped at reception before heading into Mr. Morita's office. "Hi Betty. Could you please call Miss Maximoff's guardian to come pick her up? She got sick in my class. It's excused." She was given a nod before heading back. She gave Mr. Morita a full report.

"Well, what do you all have to say for yourselves?"

"Wanda's been really mean to us," Eliza began.

Rachel nodded furiously. "Yeah. She's the new kid. We just tried to be friendly."

Miss Chen rolled her eyes. She didn't care if it looked unprofessional. She turned Mr. Morita's monitor towards herself and pulled up the video and audio footage from the hallway. Then she turned it so everyone could watch.

Mr. Morita was silent for a minute before turning to the kids. "Let's start with the fact that you'll all have detention for the next two weeks. I'll be calling your parents. Bullying is serious, you know."

As he continued to lecture them, Natasha felt terrible. She had gotten a call from the school saying Wanda was sick. She was on her way, but wasn't getting a response from Wanda.

Peter wasn't caring much better. Wanda was curled up in a ball against the wall, knees pulled tightly to her chest, arms wrapped around them, struggling for air. He really didn't know how to help her.

"Come on Wanda, you've gotta breathe. You're okay. Those girls are finally getting what's been coming to them." He says next to her, back against the wall. He really hoped Natasha would get there soon. Wanda was getting paler by the second.

She pulled into the parking lot and walked through the front doors. She gave the receptionist a small smile. "Hi, I'm here to pick up Wanda Maximoff? I got a call saying she was sick."

The woman nodded. "Just a moment."

She returned a minute later followed by another woman. She was tall and thin, with lightly framed glasses and black hair pulled neatly into a French twist. She gave her a small smile and offered Natasha her hand. "You must be Miss Romanoff. Let's walk and talk."

Natasha wasn't sure she understood, but did do anyway. "My name is Miss Chen. I'm Wanda's mandarin teacher," she said as they headed out of the office. "I'm sure she's told you about what's been going on."

Natasha looked at her curiously and shook her head.

She received a sad smile in response. "The others in question are receiving their punishments from the principal right now. Wanda has been bullied for a while, I believe. As I'm sure you know, teenaged girls are ruthless and mean. Today was the first day I've witnessed it." They rounded a corner and headed up a flight of stairs.

"Wanda and Peter are in my classroom right now. He thinks she's having a panic attack." Damn. Natasha started walking faster, even though she had no idea where she was going. This was so much worse than being sick. Miss Chen sensed her urgency and also sped up.

"Some other students were making very rude remarks about her, while mentioning her family." Oh no. Her heart clenched. "They were saying things along the lines of they died to get away from her. I am truly sorry I did not catch on sooner, Miss Romanoff. But I promise you they will be punished  
severely."

Natasha nodded. They better be. She was very unhappy that Wanda hadn't told her she was being bullied, but if anyone was going to just take it silently, it was her. She never, ever complained.

Miss Chen gestured to a hallway. "Room 308, down on the left. I'll be in the teacher's room. I don't have a class next period. You and Wanda are free to leave as soon as she's ready. She's excused for the day." Natasha nodded thankfully and hurried off down the hallway. "Oh also, Miss Romanoff, she's very worried that you'll be mad at her for interrupting your day." She kept that in consideration. She didn't think she could ever be mad at Wanda.

Her heart broke when she opened the door to room 308. Wanda and Peter were both sitting on the floor. She was curled in on herself, half gasping, half sobbing. Peter looked up at her in relief.

Natasha slid down the wall on Wanda's other side and wrapped her arms around her, stroking her hair slowly. "I'm here milaya. I'm so sorry. You're alright."

It took a few minutes for Wanda to come down. She stayed tucked away in Natasha's side as she slowly lifted her head to look around. "Where am I?"

"Miss Chen's room," Peter answered. Wanda turned to him but didn't respond. She sniffled and nodded. 

"Thanks Pete. You can go to lunch if you want. I know it's probably almost over."

"Are you sure? Ned and MJ won't mind and I'm not that hungry anyway."

She tried to smile at him, but it didn't really work. "I'm sure. Thank you."

He looked at Natasha for permission before getting up and slinging on his backpack. "Okay. Feel better Wanda. See you later today for game night," he said before heading out the door, closing it behind him. That left Natasha and Wanda alone.

Natasha rubbed Wanda's arm comfortingly as she thought about what to say. She heard Wanda sniff and saw her wipe away another tear as she took a shaky breath.

"I would never be mad at you for having the school call me," she decided to start off with. "I told you I'd always be here when and if you needed me. I don't care when or where that is. You know I'd be here in a heartbeat, right?"

Wanda sighed shakily. "Didn't I interrupt training?"

Natasha smiled a little and shook her head, squeezing Wanda's shoulder to get her to look up at her. "You interrupted a yelling match between Clint and Tony about if we should play Clue or Parcheesi first tonight. I was looking for a way out anyways. I should be thanking you."

Wanda nodded and breathed deeply, pressing a hand to her chest.

"Still can't really breathe?" Natasha asked her. She shook her head.

"Let's go outside. It's nice out." She got up and gave Wanda her hand. She wrapped her arm around Wanda's shoulders. She was still grasping her chest. She grabbed a tissue to wipe away some stray tears. She was shaking and wobbly on her feet.

Wanda didn't even seem to notice they were walking down the hallway. Natasha was glad they didn't see any other students. She knew they would give Wanda a hard time about it.

Natasha walked them to a bench across the parking lot that overlooked a small park. Wanda sat down when the backs of her knees hit the bench. She leaned into Natasha and watched the wind blow the leaves about in the small patch of greenery. There was a couple on a date there, sitting on a picnic blanket. Sitting in the fresh air did help Wanda calm down.

They stayed sitting on the bench for another fifteen minutes. Wanda listlessly watched the monotonous activities around them while Natasha just enjoyed the weather. It was abnormally warm and bright for an October day.

"Sorry," Wanda said softly after a few minutes, still staring at a bird in a tree.

Natasha wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "Not your fault, Wanda. And I know how your mind works. I'm not disappointed that you let those girls get to her. Teenaged girls suck. They're the worst of humanity."

Wanda giggled, which made Natasha smile. "Ready to go home? We can make smoothies and sit in Pepper's little garden."

She nodded with a shy smile. "I'd like that."

They drove back to the coumpound with the windows down. She seemed a lot better. They avoided the topic of school completely. Natasha knew they should talk about it, but it could definitely wait.

They lay on their backs in the garden, feeling the grass beneath them and the sweet fall air blowing around them. Natasha propped herself up on her elbows and took a sip of her strawberry banana smoothie.

"Hey Wands?" She hummed and looked up, mirroring her position.

"You know I'd never be mad at you for having a panic attack, right? It's not like you chose to."

Wanda shrugged, her eyes going to her smoothie. "I certainly do not, but I wish I wasn't as easy to provoke. I feel bad I have them so often and have to go to you."

Natasha scooter over and let Wanda lay her head on her shoulder. "I do too. We can work on ways to cope, but I'll never mind you coming to me. I like having a purpose. Love you Wanda."

She smiled, her hair blowing lightly in the wind. "Love you too Tasha. Thanks for always being there for me."

She pressed a kiss to Wanda's temple. "Always."


	23. English

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it’s in parenthesis, it’s in Sokovian. Also excuse my very weak Spanish skills.

Wanda had never actually spoken English before she came to America with the Avengers. She had heard it spoken from time to time and had come to have a rather good grasp of the language, and she prided herself on being fluent in it from listening to the scientists at Hydra and the news she overheard from their phones.

"If you want to be an Avenger and be able to fit in, you'll need to learn proper English," Natasha had told her. She had furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Do I not speak English now?"

Steve smiled at her. "It's really impressive that you can speak in so many lanaguages, especially at your age, but your English could use a little fine tuning," he said gently.

She made a face. "Fine tuning?"

Clint was sitting at the counter next to Wanda, across from Natasha and Steve. "It means just smooth out the rough edges. Clean it up. Add some words here or there," he said.

She nodded. That made sense. She was certainly open to it.

"You'll learn reading and get better at English at school," Natasha informed her. "Being surrounded by the language really helps you learn it."

"School?"

Steve and Clint exchanged a look. "They had schools in Sokovia, right?" Steve asked.

Wanda nodded. "Yes, I just have not been in long time. I do not think I can fit."

"In a long time," Natasha corrected. "And you'll be fine. Schools do baseline tests and can give you accommodations based on wherever you're at."

"Is there anyone there I could speak to in Sokovian? It may be easier for me to learn that way," Wanda proposed.

Clint shook his head. "I don't think so kiddo. Maybe Portuguese or Spanish. Do you know either of those better than English?"

She shook her head. "Spanish is not so great. German or Russian?"

Natasha smiled sadly. "I don't think so Wanda. English will come easier with time. And we're here to help, okay?" Wanda nodded.

Happy dropped her and Peter off at school bright and early on Monday morning. Peter walked with her down to guidance. He was talking rapidly about what Wanda should know about the school, but she wasn't really listening. And he was getting harder and harder to follow.

"Uh, Peter?" She asked, interrupting him mid sentence. "Could you please speak slower?"

His face dropped and he shook his head. "Yeah, of course, sorry." He paused for a moment, shaking his head. "I can't imagine being fluent in more than one language. That's really cool."

She smiled. "Thank you. It can be confusing, so many in my head."

He shook his head, grinning, as they arrived at guidance. "Many? Like, more than two? Will you tutor me in Spanish?"

She giggled. "Sure, but I am not great."

He shook his head. "I don't care. You can't be worse than me."

He went in with her and checked her in. Both he and the woman behind the desk talked very fast.

After filling out some forms and talking with Peter, she stood up and and smiled at Wanda. "Ready to go meet your counselor? She specializes in ESL."

Wanda looked at Peter in confusion. "English as a second language. Or, uh, fifth or whatever."

The woman's eyebrows rose. "Fifth?"

Wanda shrugged and looked at the floor. "Is that alright?"

"Yes, yes, of course it is. We just don't get many students here that know more than one language, let alone two. I think you're definitely the most well rounded student we have."

Wanda smiled and took the compliment as she followed the woman down the hallway.

Wanda's counselor was very nice and very patient. She tried to make easy conversation with Wanda. She was glad for how slowly the woman spoke.

"I don't think I've ever met someone from Sokovia, or who speaks Sokovian," she said, shuffling around a large pile of papers. "What language are you signed up to take here?"

Wanda hesitated. "Sorry? I do not believe I signed up."

Her counselor checked a list and nodded. "Alright, I see that now. How about Spanish 101?"

Wanda looked at her. "One hundred and one?"

"Oh, it just means introductory. Base level. No prior knowledge or experience needed."

"Oh." Wanda was quiet for a minute. "Is it a problem if I have experience?"

She looked up in surprise. "No, not a problem. We can put you in a different one. Do you know any German?"

She nodded. 

"Russian?"

She nodded again.

The counselor ran her finger down the list. "Mandarin Chinese?"

Wanda shook her head. The woman smiled. "Good. I'll sign you up. That must get overwhelming, so many languages in your head." Wanda nodded.

"I'm here for if you ever need a break from that," the woman said, sitting down behind her desk. "Although I'm sorry to say I can't offer you relief in Sokovian. Usually we pair students up with people who speak their native language. I can't offer you that, but I can offer some peace and quiet."

Wanda nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

The woman smiled kindly. "Alright. Now if it's okay and you don't have any questions, you're off to class. If you ever need me or just some quiet time, come down here and ask for Miss Winslow. Okay?"

She nodded hesitantly and headed off to class.

They weren't terrible. She wasn't great at school. She was confused in math and her teacher didn't really have the patience for her. Peter and Ned did their best to help her, but she was just missing so many basic concepts. Peter said she should talk to Miss Winslow about accommodations.

Science wasn't great either. She didn't understand physics in Sokovian, so why would she understand it in English? It just seemed like more math anyway.

History was pretty bad. US history was confusing. The teacher glossed over years at a time, assuming they could fill in the gaps. Everyone seemed to be able to but her.

And then there was English class. Wanda really didn't like her teacher. She was heavily onset, a fake shade of tan, and wore thick glasses. She snapped at kids and yelled a lot. She was constantly correcting Wanda's sentence structures in front of the whole class whenever she spoke. Wanda wondered how she ended up in an English class focused on grammar and vocabulary when she didn't even know all the basic words yet.

She was handing back their tests one afternoon, then she got to Wanda. She looked at her in disgust down the bridge of her nose. "Wanda. Stay after class so we can talk about your grade." Written atop her test paper was a red F. That meant she failed, right?

She flipped through. The multiple choice didn't seem so bad. Not too many seemed wrong, but then she got to the written essay. The page was covered in red ink.

Words were crossed out and words were written in. Periods and commas were added as well as some symbols Wanda didn't even recognize.

The bell rang and she went up to her teacher's desk. "You failed the test, Miss Maximoff. Do you understand what you got wrong?"

Wanda looked at her essay, riddled with red ink. She shook her head slowly. Her teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You shouldn't be in an English class if you can't even form a correct sentence," she chastised. "I know this isn't your first language, but you're clearly not studying enough. I don't understand how you're not getting this Wanda. As of now, you're not on track to pass this class. I suggest you look into a tutor or at least some flashcards. Start trying if you don't want to retake this class."

Wanda was stunned. She stared at her teacher blankly. None of that sounded like it could help her do better on the next test. Study what? The entire English language? That was a lot to cover.

"Feel free to leave. I believe your grade has lunch now," her teacher said, waving a hand for her to leave. She did so silently. She had absolutely no idea how to react to that.

She was thankful that Peter was waiting up for her in the hallway. "Everything good? No one likes Miss Harlow. I heard some of what she was saying. She's notorious for being really mean."

Wanda sighed. "Notorious?"

"Sorry. Really well known for."

It was a given that Wanda wasn't having a great day. She handed Peter her test. "I do not understand what I do wrong," she said. "She suggest I study. Study what?"

Peter shook his head. "This is crazy. You answered the question. I mean you're missing a bunch of articles but you can definitely understand what you were saying."

"Articles?"

"Like a, an, that. Small words. They're kinda stupid."

"Maybe I'm just kinda stupid," Wanda said quietly.

Peter's head snapped around. "Hey! No you're not. English is supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn, and you know, like, six."

Wanda shook her head. "I start to read, but I see English. Then I translate to Sokovian. Then answers appear in Russian. It is hard to think in a language you do not know." She shook her head. "Do you know how to get back to office of counselor? I would like some quiet."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'll go with you. I can explain what happened with Miss Harlow too, if you want. You know, in English."

She nodded thankfully. She didn't feel much like talking in English.

Peter walked with her to guidance and asked for Miss Winslow. Wanda was silent as they went down the hallway.

She looked up and smiled. "Hi Wanda. Hi Peter. What can I do for you?"

Wanda flopped down in one of the chairs and gave Peter her test. She stared off into space, not really listening, as Peter and Miss Winslow spoke.

"Wanda," Miss Winslow said after a few minutes. "I've had some students in the past who have had issues with Miss Harlow too. We can switch you into a different class. Don't worry, we won't let you fail." Wanda nodded thankfully and gave her a thin smile.

"I'm going to go have a little chat with her about some of the things she said to you and wrote here. You can stay here for the rest of the day and do homework if you want. Feel free to call your guardian. It seems like you could use a break."

She headed off and Peter smiled at her sadly. "You okay here? I gotta go buy lunch but I can come back."

Wanda smiled wanly but shook her head. "Thank you Peter, but I will be okay. Thank you."

He smiled and left, making her to promise to text if she needed anything. She nodded and pulled out her phone, clicking on Natasha's contact.

She picked up before the third ring. "Wanda? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Sorry. I am at counselor office. I," she sighed. "Bad day."

"Oh." Good. She didn't sound angry. "So what's up?"

Wanda debated what to say. "(Do you mind? It is just too much English.)"

Thankfully, Natasha caught on quickly. "(Of course. It's overwhelming to be completely surrounded by a language you don't really know with no break. My Sokovian isn't great, but I can try. Talk slow. That's gotta be hard. I know you're wondering if you interrupted anything. You didn't. I'm free to talk. I'm pretty bored, actually. So what happened today?)"

Wanda filled her in, in Sokovian, about her English teacher and the test and how her math teacher snapped at her and how physics felt just like another math class and how confusing US history was with all the holes. She was growing calmer talking to her.

"(Yeah)," Natasha agreed with a sigh. "(I don't know why you're in a US history class. Put me on with Miss Winslow when she comes back and I'll see if there's a World History class. And your English teacher sounds terrible. I bet she teaches English because it's the only thing she's good at.)" Natasha's heart warmed when Wanda giggled. She was glad she laughing.

"(Miss Winslow said I could stay here and do homework for the rest of today. I believe that's what I'll do. I don't think I can handle one more teacher yelling at me disapprovingly in English. And I'm sorry I failed the test.)"

"(Oh Wanda, you know I don't expect you to be the best student in the world. You've missed years and years of school. I'm proud of you for trying. Don't worry about failing. I know you're doing your best.)"

Wanda smiled. "Thanks Tasha."

Natasha smiled. "Anytime Wands. I'm here."

Wanda spent the rest of the day with headphones in listening to classical music doing homework. Natasha had suggested it because she didn't have to worry about languages. She handed her phone to Miss Winslow when she got back and Natasha talked to her about getting Wanda into different classes and getting her some accommodations. She finished her math and English homework to the best of her abilities. The only one she was confident about was her Mandarin.

Peter showed up at the end of the day. "Hey," he said to her. He handed her a stack of papers. "Here's the rest of your work. Sorry you have all the bad teachers, except for Miss Chen. She seems nice."

Wanda looked at the stack of papers and took them hesitantly. "This is much."

He laughed. "Yeah, it is. Sorry. Ready? Happy's probably here by now."

She nodded and they headed outside. "Oh!" He said excitedly, turning to her. "I forgot." He grinned. "I've been working on something." She raised her eyebrows expectantly, a smile playing on her lips.

"Hola Wanda. Lo siento para tú día de muy mal." (Hi Wanda. I am sorry for your very bad day.)

Her smile widened exponentially. "Gracias, Peter. Eso es muy amable de tu parte al decir. Ojala tú día estaba major que el mío." (Thank you Peter. That is very kind of you to say. I hope your day was better than mine.)

He laughed. "I have no idea what you said. I'm in Spanish three, not a Spanish University."

They collapsed into giggles as they climbed into Happy's car. "Good day?" He asked, smiling as he looked at them in the mirror.

"Yeah, it was good," Peter answered, looking at Wanda, seeing is she wanted to elaborate. She didn't.

The Avengers were all waiting around for them when they got up to their floor. Natasha gave Wanda a small smile and put up her arm. She snuggled into her side on the couch.

She didn't really listen as the others talked and asked about their days. She gave a simple "fine" when asked about hers. Natasha rubbed small  
patterns on her arm, not pushing her to talk. She understood. She too had once been displaced to a foreign country and not completely understood the foreign tongue. She also remembered wishing for nothing more than a hug and someone who she could talk to in her own language. She had long since adjusted and grown used to English, but she would never forget what that feeling was like. She would never forgive herself if she let Wanda suffer alone. So she kept Wanda tucked safely and comfortably into her side, wishing she could protect her from all the bad in the world and make her feel just a little less isolated.


	24. Sokovia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: implied suicidal thoughts

After they make a mess, the government always gives the Avengers bad press. How dare they make such a mess and just leave the rest of the world in their wake to clean up? It wasn't like they weren't capable of cleaning up. So Tony decided that after the battle of Ultron, it was finally time they clean up a mess.

There wasn't much they could do. Steve, Tony, Natasha, Bruce, Sam, Vision, Clint, Rhodes, and Wanda stepped off the quinjet in nearby Russia. It overlooked where Sokovia once stood. Now it was just a pile of dust, dirt, and rubble.

Wanda choked down a sob as they stepped out of the jet. Her home. Her country. All she had ever known, destroyed. In ruins. Tony started handing out supplies and giving everyone the game plan, but she couldn't bring herself to listen. She walked over to a ledge and carefully lowered herself down, letting her feet hang over the edge. She stared at her homeland. From up here, she could just imagine where the church had once stood, where her parents took her and Pietro on Sundays. Where their apartment building was and the bakery around the corner where Miss Kiev had once hired her. That felt like a lifetime ago now.

Natasha couldn't help but stare as Wanda sat on a ledge that overlooked where Sokovia's remains now lay. She clearly had no intention of helping them clean. Natasha couldn't blame her. None of them could.

Tony glanced at the girl, but didn't bother to address her. She clearly didn't like him and he was still terrified of her.

"Do we try to talk to her," Natasha said quietly in Clint's ear. She didn't need to hear how to clean up. Unlike Tony, she had indeed worked many days in her life. So had Clint. So had, well, all of them but Vision, who was listening intently.

"This was a terrible choice. We shouldn't have even brought her," Clint responded. He sighed. "But I don't think we talk yet. Just let her be. I can't imagine what this is like for her. Let's just keep an eye on her."

They weren't quite sure how they were helping as they cleared the rubble and stuffed debris and trash into garbage bags. By the time the sun began to set, they were all hot, tired, dirty, and surrounded by mounds of full garbage bags.

It was beyond devastating. They pulled books and toys and things that held meaning to people out of the collapsed piles of wood and cement. All of the people that had once lived in Sokovia had become refugees. It was a mess. Next to none could come to the US. The language barrier was simply too thick. That is, expect for Wanda. Her English was good. She knew more words than not. She missed really only small words in her sentences. They rarely had problems understanding her and she rarely had problems understanding them. But that also meant that Wanda didn't get to see anyone from her own country.

Natasha looked up. Wanda was still sitting on the ledge, eyes unfocused, hands folded neatly in her lap. She hadn't moved since the sunrise, when they had first arrived. A few tears had run down her face. She hadn't bothered wiping them away. She was deathly pale and looked even skinnier from below.

Natasha made her way back up the mountain and sat down next to Wanda. The sunset was beautiful. Oranges and reds painted the sky, an orb of hazy yellow energy lowering itself into the ground on the horizon. The colors of fire and chaos made the sky look ablaze.

They sat in silence as the sun went down. She could hear Wanda sniff every few minutes, but she never lifted a finger to wipe her tears away. She didn't speak, didn't even acknowledge Natasha was there beside her. Below them, the others packed up the bags and hauled them into a large metal dumpster. There were so many. Looking from above, it didn't even look like they had made a dent in the mess.

"This is my home," Wanda said softly. Her voice broke.

Natasha looked at her, then turned back to the setting sun. She had no idea what to say, so she said nothing. There were absolutely no words to describe this. What do you say to someone whose entire country sits before them, in complete shambles?

Wanda sniffed, more loudly this time, before a small sob escaped her lips. She lowered her face into her hands.

Natasha cautiously put a hand on Wanda's back and rubbed slow circles. She really wished they could move off the ledge. They were so high up, but a small part of her told her that Wanda already knew that. Maybe that's why she was here.

Clint gave Natasha a sad smile as he passed the pair, entering the jet. The others didn't comment as they made their way on. After fifteen minutes, Wanda was still sobbing uncontrollably. The only light around them was coming from the jet.

"You ready to go?" Natasha asked her quietly. She didn't get up.

Wanda looked out at the land, only slightly illuminated now. She shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever be ready. Sorry. You can leave." Wanda tucked her knees to her chest, ignoring the tears.

Natasha debated her answer very carefully. She knew Wanda would never be ready to say goodbye to Sokovia. It was where she had grown up and spent her entire life. To her knowledge, she had never even left the country before the Avenger took her in.

"We're not going to leave you here, Wanda," Natasha said. "I'm not going to leave you here."

Wanda looked at her and her heart cracked in half. She knew that look in her eye. The feeling of absolute hopelessness and utter despair. Her eyes looked dead. She looked dead.

"What if I asked you to?" She said, voice hoarse. She looked at Natasha, yearning for her to just get up and leave her to die in the one place in the world she called home.

Natasha looked at her carefully, before turning back to the city's remnants. Her phone buzzed. It was from Clint.

Everyone wants to leave. Try to get back when you can.

She didn't think that was going to be an easy task.

"Then I would say I couldn't do that," Natasha settled on. "You're an Avenger now, and we don't leave each other behind."

"We both know I'm not a real Avenger. I don't belong with you all."

Natadha tilted her head to the side. "Sure you do. You know, we're all just a bunch of misfits that happened to fall upon each other. None of us come from good places, but we've managed to get to one." She looked at Wanda, trying to read for a reaction. She didn't find one. "You can too."

Wanda sniffed. "I do not think so, Natasha. I have done too much." The she finally looked at Natasha. They met eyes. "Why do you not hate me?"

She could tell it was a serious question. Wanda really thought she deserved nothing but hatred.

"Was your intention to hurt me just to hurt me?"

It was a simple question, but one that took Wanda too long to answer.

"Of course not. I would never hurt people to only cause pain."

"No rational, good person ever would," Natasha continued. She debated divulging into her past. It was so rare for her to open up.

"Do you know anything about me, other than I'm an Avenger?" She asked. Wanda shook her head.

Natasha couldn't look at her while she spoke. "I was an assassin, still am. That's why I was recruited. I have a ledger longer than Sokovia probably had citizens. I've done a lot of bad in this world," she said with a sigh. "I guess as an Avenger, I'm trying to erase some of the damage I have done, because I know I can never make it go away completely."

Then she turned to Wanda. "But you haven't killed anyone. You've done some terrible things, but for the right reason. I promise you that every single other person on that jet would have done the exact same thing in your position."

Wanda shook her head. "I made you all see terrible things, no matter what the reason was. This is where I deserve to stay."

Natasha's phone buzzed again. She didn't bother checking.

"Maybe."

Wanda looked at her, confused.

"I deserve to be in Hell right now. I've cheated death far too many times. If not there, then at least in the darkest cell Siberia has to offer. But I'm not. I'm here instead. Like it or not, you are too."

"People like us Wanda, we had bad influences and had terrible things happen to us. But for the first time ever, you're the one in the driver's seat. Do you really want to end the ride so soon?"

She watched Wanda untuck her legs and drape them over the edge again. Her pace quickened as Wanda looked over the edge.

"I just want to be with my family," she said quietly. "I do not want to live without them."

"Do you think you could try?" Natasha asked quietly.

Wanda looked at her and looked over the edge again. She just shrugged.

After a long few moments, Wanda got to her feet. Natasha followed suit. She watced Wanda lean over the edge, surveying the rocky terrain below.

Steve put a hand on Clint's chest to keep him from rushing out. They had been watching Natasha and Wanda for awhile.

"Dying won't make it all go away, no matter how bad you want to believe it will," Natasha told her quietly. She could see Wanda's lip quivering. "I know. I've tried. Give us a chance to help you."

She took a risk and stepped closer to her, putting a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "Give me a chance to show you that life can still hold some meaning."

For a terrifying moment, they thought she was going to step off the ledge. She lifted her shaking leg, before shaking her head and collapsing into Natasha's open arms. "I can't do it. I'm a coward."

Natasha held her close and closed her eyes. "No. Your body just knows, deep down, that you're not ready to die yet."

She led Wanda back to the jet, where Clint met them both with a bone crushing group hug. Wanda strapped herself in between Clint and Natasha. She stared at the floor as they took off.

"I'm really glad you're here, kiddo. You're gonna live our trip to the farm."

Wanda lifted her head to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. "Farm?"

Natasha smiled. "He lives on a farm. Him and his wife were there for me after I lost everything." She shared a meaningful look with Clint. "So now, we're all going to be here for you."

Wanda shook her head. "You don't have to. I don't deserve it."

Clint smiled wanly. "But you do. You haven't gotten a good chance yet. We plan to give you one."

It didn't seem like she had a choice. Minutes passed. Clint pulled out his phone to play some game and the others all fell into mundane tasks.

"Sleep," Natasha said quietly into her ear. "It was a long day."

Wanda nodded. She was exhausted. She stiffly rested her head on Natasha's shoulder and closed her eyes. Within five minutes, she was out cold.

Natasha let out a breath when she felt Wanda relax against her. This girl was far too mcuh like her for her liking. She had been there, stranded alone in the darkness. But she would make sure that Wanda knew she was cared for and wanted. After all, everyone deserved a second chance.


	25. Paralyzed Widow

Natasha hated weakness. It wasn't exactly a hidden fact about her. Everyone knew it and she avoided all situations that could possibly make her feel weak.

Battles weren't usually a weakness for her. She could easily hold her own against people and aliens and robots. It made her feel strong and worthy and powerful.

But this time, the people had weapons. Very powerful weapons. Bullets weren't usually a huge threat for her. She had gotten shot before, many times actually. She had speed healing to an extent, from the testing in the Red Room. She barely noticed grazes and usually simply stitched up and pulled out the bullets after battles.

But this was not one of those days. Natasha felt herself get grazed. It stung, but was nothing she couldn't handle. Until it felt like her body was shutting down. Her legs and arms turned into jelly. She couldn't control them. As she felt herself losing feeling, she reached up and hit her com. "Something's wrong. Bullets are laced," she got out, before she dropped to the ground.

She was beyond vulnerable. She blinked rapidly, trying to look around. She couldn't move her head. Or anywhere else on her body. She couldn't move at all. She could feel her heart fade speed up. She couldn't see her surroundings or who was near her. She could hear her teammates rapidly calling for her over the coms.

"Laced with what, Nat? Poison?" Steve asked. "Nat? You with us?"

She wasn't. She couldn't open her mouth. Couldn't move.

"Anyone have eyes on Nat?" Clint asked. No one answered.

"Spread out. We need to find her. We have the source secured. New priority," Steve announced.

Wanda looked around in a panic. Natasha couldn't be down. She never went down. She couldn't be hurt.

Wanda kept up a shield with one hand while she shot balls of energy with the other, rapidly looking for Natasha. Then she saw her fiery red hair spread against the tarmac.

"Tasha!" She called desperately, running over. She got down to her knees next to her. She threw up a shield around them to protect them from bullets.

She looked down and made eye contact with Natasha and let out a breath. Her eyes were open. That was good.

"Tasha? What's wrong?"

Natasha just stared up at her. Wanda watched her chest rise and fall. Then she looked back to Natasha. "You can't move." She blinked.

Wanda let out an unsteady breath. "Okay. I've got you, Tasha." She opened the coms and let everyone know she was with Natasha, who was paralyzed.

Wanda got to her feet and blew out a breath as she connected eyes with Natasha again. "I'm sorry. I know you're going to hate this." She carefully wrapped Natasha in red tendrils and lifted her off the ground. She saw Natasha's eyes widen.

Wanda winced. "Sorry. I know. Please don't be too mad."

Wanda stalked her way across the makeshift battlefield, one hand carrying Natasha floating behind her, the other shooting at their enemies. She couldn't bring herself to focus and run at the same time.

"Wanda?" Bruce asked on the coms. "Are you... carrying Nat with you?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess. Where do I go?"

"Sam's supposed to bring the quinjet to the east border at the tree line in ten. Wait there until then?" Steve asked.

Wanda huffed and nodded. "We can do that."

She pulled herself into a deadend brick alley and lowered Natasha onto the ground next to her. She had to lay her out next to her.

Wanda huffed, a hand going to her chest to catch her breath. She looked at Natasha. She caught her eyes. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I know you hate when I use my powers around you."

Natasha wished so badly she could talk then. She wanted to reassure Wanda that she hadn't done anything wrong. She needed to tell her that she had probably saved her life and that she couldn't be mad at her for that. But she couldn't move.

Wanda shot a few enemies down as they sat in the alley.

"Sam just touched down," Tony said. "Wanda, you two good?"

"Yeah, on our way." Wanda breathed a sigh of relief and got to her feet. She shot Natasha a hesitant look. "Sorry. One more time."

She lifted Natasha and walked next to her floating body as they made their way to the ship, walking briskly.

She saw the others rushing into the plane. Bruce and Sam were on the hangar with guns, shooting at the enemies with icers, who were running towards the ship. They gestured for Wanda to hurry and stared for a moment at Natasha floating next to her.

Tony hurried around to close the hangar as soon as they were aboard, calling out for FRIDAY to get them in the air. Steve came from down the hallway with a gurney.

"You know you're not supposed to use your powers on us kid," Tony yelled as he made his way to the cockpit.

Wanda bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I did not know what else to do."

"Place her down," Steve instructed, wheeling the gurney over. Wanda gently placed Natasha down. He threw her a tight and grim smile. "Good work kiddo," he said quietly. He and Bruce headed off down the short hallway with her on the gurney.

Wanda sat down next to Clint in one of the passenger seats. She stared at the ground. She was so mad at herself.

"What were your other options?" Clint asked her quietly.

She turned to him and blinked. "Sorry?"

"What were your other options for moving Natasha while keeping both of you safe?"

Wanda turned her head to the side and thought about it. "I suppose I could have tried to carry her myself."

"Yeah, but you could've dropped her if you got startled and had to use your powers," he commented.

Wanda nodded slowly. That was true. "I suppose I could have just stayed with her."

"You could've," Clint said evenly, "but then you both would have been in the open and more vulnerable."

She nodded slowly. She looked at him. "Then what should I have done differently?" She asked softly.

He returned her small smile. "I'm trying to show you that you made the best decision you could for the both of you based on the situation. She won't be mad at you kiddo."

"But I used my powers on her," Wanda said nervously.

Clint shrugged. "Sort of. It's not like you went into her head, did you?" She shook her head no. "You levitated her to safety. I guess it's your form of carrying her."

Wanda sighed. She still felt guilty. "She'll be fine, Wanda. And she'll tell you herself when she gets back her motion that she's not mad at you, okay?" She nodded, unconvinced. Clint slung an arm around her shoulders. "For now, relax. I know how much your powers drain you." She relaxed into his side for the ride back to the compound.

She watched as Natasha was wheeled off to the medical wing. Bruce stayed back to give Wanda and Clint an update as the others dispersed.

"She's gonna be fine," he told them. "Probably just a simple nerve blocker. I can almost guarantee we have an antiserum here in the compound. You can visit in a few hours. I'll let you both know when she's more together." He left, giving them both a curt nod.

Wanda and Clint slumped down into the waiting room chairs. Neither of them wanted to change until they knew she was better.

Cho came in about an hour later. She smiled at them. "Natasha's fine. She's talking, but she's still regaining the feeling in her limbs. It'll return gradually. I'd prefer if only one of you went in at a time."

They nodded and looked at each other. "Mind if I go first?" Clint asked. She shook her head. He followed Dr. Cho off down the hallway.

He came back a few minutes later, smiling and shaking his head. "Whatever you do, don't tell her she seems clumsy. She can still kick ass with a half paralyzed body." Wanda smiled as she headed down the hallway.

She hesitantly knocked on her open door. Natasha looked up at her and smiled. "Hey." Her voice sounded throaty and hoarse.

"Hey," Wanda responded, heading into the room. Natasha clumsily patted the spot next to her on her bed. Wanda climbed on and sat cross legged.

She looked at Natasha for a moment, before looking down at her hands. She picked at her nails. "I'm really sorry I used my powers on you."

Natasha shook her head and struggled to push herself up the bed. Wanda let her move on her own. The last thing Natasha needed was to feel incapable.

"Don't apologize. Clint said you two talked?" She nodded. "He voiced my thoughts. I know it was the best option. Sorry I didn't express myself right. I was surprised, not angry."

Wanda bit her lip. "Really? Because I would understand if you were angry."

Natasha shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Not angry. I swear. You kept us both out of the line of fire and danger. I'm thankful. You just caught me off guard."

Wanda nodded and went back to picking at her nails. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Can you walk yet? I know you don't want to be here," Wanda asked.

Natasha tilted her head to the side. "I don't know. Let's see. Help me out here." Wanda's eyes widened as Natasha clumsily swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling off.

"Tasha, if you can't feel your feet, should you try to stand?"

She smirked. "It's fine. Let's see what happens. I know you'll catch me if I fall, one way or another. You proved that earlier." Wanda blushed lightly at the compliment, smiling.

Natasha held onto the bed rail with one hand and Wanda's shoulder with the other. She shakily got to her feet.

"You okay?" Wanda asked her. Natasha nodded. She mechanically slid a foot forwards, then the other. She wasn't really walking, but she certainly was moving. Natasha took her hand off her shoulder.

She grinned. "See? Never been better."

Natasha somehow turned around and made it back to the edge of the bed, more falling back rather than sitting. Wanda carefully lowered herself down next to her.

"I'll really try to find a better option next time, I promise," Wanda said softly.

Natasha scoffed and threw a hand around her shoulders. "Wanda, I'm telling you, stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong. Your option was fast and efficient. I promise I'm not mad. I'm proud of you Wanda."

She smiled and leaned into her side. "I don't think I can handle a board game right now, but I can handle a movie. Watch with me?" Natasha proposed.

Wanda nodded and lay back in the hospital bed with her. At the end of the movie, Natasha decided they needed to go eat something and get cleaned up. Wanda walked with her up to their floor, ready to steady her if need be. Even paralyzed, they still both needed the other to lean on.


	26. Safe in Wakanda

Wanda didn't speak the whole plane ride to Wakanda after Cap broke them all out. After ripping off the straitjacket and shock collar, she wouldn't let anyone near her. Clint carried her to the jet and deposited her in one of the seats. Wanda immediately slid off of it and away from Clint's arms onto the floor. She wouldn't let anyone close enough to touch her and didn't seem to hear them talking to her, telling her she needed some kind of seatbelt. She put her back against the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. She stared off into space, tears rolling slowly down her face. Steve and Bucky were in the cockpit. Sam, Scott, and Clint were strapped into the seats, but stayed away from her. They figured giving her space would be best. They were out of their depth. Steve looked at her worriedly in the mirror ever once in awhile. He had no idea what to do either. He didn't know what happened. None of them did.

When they touched down in Wakanda, none of them really knew what to expect. The hangar door slowly opened to reveal T'Challa waiting for them. Steve walked down and met him.

"I am very glad you have chosen to stay here Captain. I truly do apologize for everything that happened."

Steve firmly returned the handshake. "We truly appreciate your hospitality, King."

He smiled at Steve. "Of course. What services can I provide for you and your team?"

Clint squatted down in front of Wanda a few feet away. "Okay kid. We're here. We're safe here. Ready to get out of here?" She slowly look up at him and gulped. Sam and Scott and Bucky exchanged glances before heading down the hangar to join Steve and T'Challa.

Wanda wiped away her tear tracks and got to her feet. Clint offered her a hand, but she shook her head. She silently followed Clint down the ramp, but kept her distance.

T'Challa took one look at her and turned to address Steve. "My team is ready to provide medical attention to anyone who needs it."

Clint went to put a hand on her back and lowered his voice to ask her if she needed anything. She flinched away from him. She obviously wasn't going to accept any help that was offered.

T'Challa noticed the hesitation. "How about I show you all to your living quarters instead?" That went over well with them all.

Wanda followed at the back of the group like a ghost. She didn't get too close to any of them and her eyes didn't really focus on anything.

"I am hoping these six rooms will be sufficient," T'Challa said, sweeping his hand at a hallway.

"More than. Thank you king," Steve said.

He made small talk with T'Challa as the others hesitantly went forward to explore. Wanda carefully leaned around one of the door frames and swept the room for guards. Her action didn't go unnoticed by the others. Then she slipped inside and closed the door behind her with a quiet click.

"What happened to the young witch?" T'Challa asked Steve quietly. "She seems far more shaken than the others."

They watched as the door stayed shut. "We don't know what happened. She hasn't said a word. But I'm worried about her."

T'Challa nodded in agreement. "You should be. Is there anyone you can call to speak to her?"

Steve thought about it. "She has no family, no living relatives. She's been closest to Clint and Nat, but it's a big risk to reach out to her right now. Maybe she just needs time before she's ready to talk."

"Maybe," T'Challa agreed. "But you may also need to decide if that call is worth the risk, for her sake. Come find me if you or your team needs anything."

Steve nodded in agreement and thanks. Wanda didn't come out of her room that day. Clint knocked and asked if she wanted dinner. She said no and requested she be left alone. He had no idea how far he should push. He had no clue what she was going through.

He returned to the living room at the end of the hall, where the others were waiting, pizza slices in hand. "She's a no?" Steve asked anxiously. He was having a really bad day. Bucky was going under and was refrozen until they had a better solution for him. He didn't want to lose Wanda too.

Clint sighed heavily as he grabbed a slice. "She's a hard no. I have no idea what to do. I haven't seen her. None of us have. She needs help, Steve," he said seriously.

"She could use Nat," Sam commented. "Even just a talk with her."

The room fell into silence as they debated the option. "Maybe we can wait a few days. See if she opens up."

Clint shrugged. "Three days tops. We don't want to make the same mistake and wait too long to help her again." They all let that sink in. Three days max it was.

Three days later, they were in the same situation. Clint had slipped in to give her food and water. He said she really didn't eat it. She needed help.

"Listen, I know it's a huge risk to reach out to Nat, but she needs her," Clint said. "I think she's the only one she'll talk to."

"Well maybe I can try to talk to her," Sam said. "The counselor side of me, ya know?"

"That's a good idea Sam," Steve commented. Scott nodded in support. Clint sighed.

"No guys, I don't think you're hearing me," Clint said.

Steve tilted his head. He wasn't following. None of them were.

"She was the only woman in an otherwise all male prison. Guards and inmates."

The room was silent. It took a minute for them to all understand what he was insinuating.

"I have a number for her burner phone," Steve said, running a hand over his hair. "It is a big risk, but I trust her."

They all nodded in agreement.

"She wouldn't do anything to hurt any of us. Especially her," Clint commented.

Steve took a deep sigh before he stepped out of the room to make the call.

Natasha picked up immediately. "Who is this."

"Nat, it's Steve. Please don't call the government."

He was met with silence for a minute. "Why did you call me Steve."

"T'Challa has offered you a room in Wakanda, all of us who are running from the law." A beat. "And Wanda's not doing well."

If Natasha was going to call and report him, she would've done it already. Steve relaxed marginally.

"What did they do to her. What has she said?"

"Nothing, Nat. Absolutely nothing. She won't talk to us and won't let anyone near her. She's not really eating. She needs help. Clint thinks she needs another woman around."

He heard her sigh. "See if you can get T'Challa to send a plane or something for me. I'll send you my location. I'll be there as soon as I can."

They said quick goodbyes and disconnected. Steve breathed a sigh of relief and headed back into the living room.

"I've gotta go talk to T'Challa about how to get her here, but she's willing to come."

Some of the tension in the room alleviated. Wanda needed Nat, but the others were excited to see her too. Clint had been worried about her on the run alone. She could handle herself, but that didn't mean she should always have to.

She was at the palace within 24 hours. Steve and Clint were waiting for her when she stepped off the private plane. Clint pulled her into a hug. She accepted it readily, hugging him back.

He smiled at her grimly. "We're glad to see you."

She returned it. "Glad to see you're all relatively safe. Now where is she."

They walked her up to their quarters and down the hall. Steve flaked off. Clint and Natasha walked to her door. He gestured towards it and headed back off down her hall.

Natasha knocked gently. "Wanda?"

No response. She turned the knob and pushed open the door.

Wanda was sitting cross legged against her headboard. She pulled her knees into her chest when Natasha walked in.

She shut the door quietly behind her. "Hey."

Wanda didn't answer. She just stared at her.

Natasha lowered herself onto the far edge of Wanda's mattress. She could see her gulp.

"Please don't send me back there."

Natasha's eyebrows knit together. She went to grab Wanda's hand, but she flinched away and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Wanda, I'm not here to report anyone. I'm here because I'm worried about you and I need somewhere to be too. I know you probably haven't been watching the news, which is a good thing, but they're after me now, too."

Wanda didn't look convinced. "But you wanted us in prison."

Her heart lurched painfully. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Wanda and never let go.

"I'm so sorry Wanda. That was never my intention. None of you deserved this." She lowered her voice and looked into Wanda's eyes. "You didn't deserve any of this."

The lights were off and the only light in the room was streaming in from around the closed curtains. Yet she could still see the tears forming tab the corners of her eyes.

"I really wanna trust you Natasha," she said brokenly. "But I'm scared."

With that, the floodgates opened. Natasha pulled Wanda into her chest as she started quietly sobbing. She stroked her hair softly, trying to provide some sort of comfort.

In a way, she was relieved that Wanda was crying. From what she understood, this was the most information and most open she'd been since they were broken out of the Raft.

"I can't go back there, Tasha. I can't do it. They're gonna hurt me again. I don't want them to touch me anymore." Wanda held onto her a little bit tighter, sobs continuing to flow.

Natasha stitched her hand into Wanda's hair. She looked up at the ceiling, holding back her own tears. How dare they hurt her. "I won't let them. I'm so sorry. I know I messed up. I'm here for you now milaya. They won't touch you again, okay? Not on my watch."

It took a good half hour for Wanda to calm down. Natasha knew they hadn't even found the tip of the iceberg yet. They hadn't even scratched the surface.

"You're gonna make yourself sick Wanda. Deep breaths. I'm going to go grab us something to eat."

She went to slip off the bed, but Wanda held onto her hand. "Please don't leave me alone."

She couldn't say no to that. Wanda had been through enough. Natasha was certainly willing to push her, but not yet.

Natasha squeezed her hand. "Sorry. I won't, but you do need to eat, and I'm hungry. Let's go to the kitchen." She glanced at Wanda. "Or I could text Steve and ask him to bring us something."

Wanda nodded. She wasn't hungry, but she certainly wasn't going to say no to whatever Natasha wanted to do.

Natasha sent a quick text before flicking on the television in Wanda's room. She turned on some mindless sitcom and sat up straight against the headboard. Wanda sat a good few inches from her.

Steve knocked on the door a few minutes later and came in with a smile. "Hey ladies. I come bearing gifts."

They didn't miss the way Wanda tensed up when he sat down on the corner of the bed. Steve went on undeterred. "I have some fruit and two sandwiches and chips and cheese and crackers." He extended a platter out onto the bed.

Natasha smirked and reached for an apple. "Much appreciated Cap. Thank you."

She held out a banana to Wanda. She shook her head.

Steve smiled at her sadly. "You're gonna have to eat something eventually, Wanda."

She shook her head again. Something like fear flashed in her eyes. "No thank you. My throat hurts."

"Oh." Steve exchanged a look with Natasha. "Well I could blend up some of the fruits. You two used to make fruit smoothies after training sometimes, right?"

They had, he wasn't wrong. But Wanda certainly didn't want one. She didn't know how to voice that she couldn't stand eating food when other people had forced it into her mouth for weeks.

Natasha handed her a handful of blueberries. She gave Wanda a kind but firm look. "Eat these and we won't bother you for the rest of today." Wanda threw them back like pills. It didn't even look like she swallowed.

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but Natasha quickly discouraged him. She smiled at Wanda. "Thank you." She gave Natasha a curt nod.

True to her word, she didn't bother Wanda any more about eating that day. She turned on the tv and let heavy silence flow between them, the only noise coming from the tv speakers.

Clint poked his head in after a while. "Dinner."

Natasha looked at Wanda. "You don't have to eat, but it would be great if you would at least sit with everyone. They're worried about you."

Wanda really didn't want sit with them and leave her room to go somewhere she didn't know. But she would also do pretty much anything to satisfy Natasha.

She didn't eat anything or even talk. She sat at the end of the table with Natasha on her left. She stared blankly at the wood table in front of her, keeping her fingers neatly folded in her lap. Although she barely even acknowledged they were there, it was progress. They were happy with progress.

Wanda returned to her room the second everyone else stood up to wash their plates. Natasha stuck around to talk with them.

"Has she opened up to you at all?" Sam asked. "It's not healthy for her to keep it all in her head."

Natasha shook her head. "She knows we're all here to listen. She'll talk when and if she's ready."

She headed down the hallway and slipped back into Wanda's room. Wanda had already flicked the tv back on. Natasha looked at her for a few moments. She was definitely avoiding looking back at her.

"Wanda, I'm here to listen when you're ready to talk about what happened. It might help."

She just nodded absentmindedly, staring at the tv. Nevertheless, Natasha was satisfied that she had gotten her message across. She wrapped a blanket around Wanda's shoulders. She was convinced she was in shock.

"I'm going to take a shower in your bathroom and steal some of the clothes they left for you, okay? Yell if you need anything."

"Natasha?" She looked back at Wanda, surprised.

"Could you please lock the door before you go?"

She nodded and locked the door to the bedroom before heading into the bathroom.

Alarm bells were blaring in her head. Every thing that girl did and said set off another one for Natasha. She had a mile long list of diagnoses a therapist would make for her already, but none of those really mattered, as she was no therapist. She knew Wanda had been through worse. She would open up eventually. She just needed time.

She was obviously badly shaken from whatever had happened, but the others encouraged Natasha that her presence had seemed to help her relax, even if only a little. A little was certainly better than not at all. She would wait however long it took for Wanda to open up to her, if she ever even chose to. But for now, all she cared about was that Wanda was safe, she was safe, and they were all safe and could process the past few months however they needed to without fearing of their location being discovered or being thrown back in prison. That was enough.


	27. Safe in Wakanda (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By request :)

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief when she looked over and saw that Wanda had finally fallen asleep. She was on top of the covers, with the plan let still pulled tightly around her shoulders. Tear tracks dried on her sleep as her chest slowly rose and fall.

She didn't dare move her or even turn off the tv. The last thing she wanted to do was wake her up. It didn't take a genius to guess that Wanda hadn't been sleeping well.

Natasha swiftly pulled the platter Steve had brought in closer to herself. She quietly munched away on some strawberries, cheese, and crackers as she surveyed Wanda.

She clearly had third degree burns in a ring around her neck. In some areas, the skin was an angry red. In some areas, it was black and falling off. No one had made her see anyone for treatment yet. They all had a feeling she could recover physically. It was mentally they were all worried about.

Natasha knew it probably hurt to eat and talk with her neck looking that bad. Clint had said they could hear her scream, but she had been kept in a different wing than the rest of them. The rescue was their first time seeing her since they had been violently taken from the airport in Leipzig by government officials.

Wanda was in a large sweatshirt and black cotton leggings. It was hot and humid in Wakanda, but that any of them had spent time outside. But still, Natasha didn't waste much time wondering why Wanda didn't wear shorts and short sleeves. She was sure the girl was peppered with bruises. In a way, she was glad Wanda was so heavily covered up. She would be seeing red if she could only see where some of the bruises were.

Even in her sleep she didn't look at peace. Her face was contorted in pain and she let out small whines every few minutes. Natasha scooted a little closer and quietly shushed her, playing with the ends of her hair. She mindlessly watched the cooking show on tv. It wasn't interesting, but it was something I distract her. She tried to think of what she would say to Wanda when she woke up. She hated being pushed to speak, especially about something she didn't want to. Like everyone, she despised being uncomfortable. She knew Wanda would be no different. Wanda was uncomfortable enough as it was. She wasn't sure it was worth it to make her even more so by pushing her to talk.

Wanda woke up after only three hours of sleep. She blinked her eyes open sleepily, before shooting up. She slid away from Natasha, breathing heavily. Her hand grasped at her neck. Natasha didn't move. She knew she needed a minute to orient herself. The light from the tv was the only source in the room. It was dark out.

Wanda's face screwed up as she gently prodded her own neck. Natasha knew it had to hurt as she watched Wanda lightly run her fingers over the burnt edges, where the nerve endings were still alive and well. Wanda let out a shaky breath as she lowered her hand back down to the bed, grasping the plush comforter in her fist.

"You okay?" Natasha asked in a low voice. "I can get some Tylenol from the first aid kit. See if there's anything stronger in there."

Wanda opened her mouth, but then closed it and tensely nodded. Natasha padded into the bathroom and came back with the full first aid kit. It was rather bulky. She had never been more thankful.

"Mind if I cover some of this?" Natasha asked, gesturing to her neck. "It's gonna get worse if it gets infected."

Wanda hesitated. Her eyes met Natasha's. She knew she was scared. She knew it would take Wanda awhile to trust her fully again.

"I could go ask Clint to do it. Or I could ask one of the doctors. King T'Challa said he has a medical team on hand specifically for all of us."

Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes. Wanda quickly swiped them away. She was getting overwhelmed and nervous. "Sorry. Uh, no, you can do it."

Natasha nodded and started pulling out bandages and digging through the box. She had no idea how she was going to bandage it without wrapping them around Wanda's neck and sending her into a panic.

"How about I text Clint and he can bring us waters. I know I'm a terrible role model, but you're not supposed to swallow pills dry." She wouldn't say it, and Wanda wouldn't say it, but she knew a buffer that they both knew, liked, and trusted would probably be helpful.

Wanda nodded and Natasha sent him a quick message. It was past eleven at night, but she knew he would still be up.

He was at the door within a minute, knocking softly. "Can I come in?"

Natasha called for him to join them as she dug around for Neosporin or some sort of antibacterial in the kit. She already had quite a stack of supplies on the bed. She had also found some Vicodin in there. She pulled out two pills for Wanda. Natasha usually would've been against her taking more than one pill while she was still severely underweight, but she knew she needed it, and it wasn't like they would be up and training anytime soon.

"Hey," Clint said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He handed the two water bottles. Then he pulled out one for himself and a bag of Doritos.

"They get the good chips imported here," he said, opening the bag loudly. Wanda just stared at him. He held one out to her. "Want one?"

She shook her head. Natasha shrugged and took a handful. Clint turned to the tv, munching on his Doritos loudly.

"What are we watching?"

Just like she had hoped, Clint was the perfect buffer. He sat pretty far away from Wanda, or as far away as the queen sized mattress would let him get. He munched away and practically narrated the show, adding his own commentary that was so Clint along the way.

It seemed to keep Wanda fairly distracted and calm. She didn't smile or laugh, but the corners of her lips did quirk up slightly at some of his comments. It was the closest thing to a smile they had seen from her.

Natasha worked as quickly and gently as she could. She talked Wanda quietly through everything she did. She put on some antibacterial and loosely wrapped some gauze around her neck. She had hoped she would have been able to leave some of it open. No such luck.

Wanda's hand gently pulled at the gauze ring. She looked at Natasha. "Does it have to be like this?"

Clint turned around to look at them. "Don't want anything around your neck, huh?" She shook her head.

He looked without touching, surveying Natasha's work and looking for any other way they could dress the wound. "I'd say Nat did it as loose and minimally as she could. I know it's pretty much the opposite of what you want, but you could put a necklace or something over it. Add some touch of your angsty teenaged sense of style that we all love so much."

Wanda's lips quirked upwards again. A small glint reappeared in her eyes. Clint gasped and a hand flew to his chest. "Wanda Maximoff, is that a smile I see?"

He looked at Natasha. A smile was spreading over her face too. She looked back at Wanda, smirking. "I think I see it too, Clint."

Wanda's face broke out into a small smile. She giggled lightly.

Clint gasped again. He hit Natasha's arm. "And a laugh. Look at this! What have we done to deserve such an honor!"

Wanda blushed and looked down at her lap, still smiling.

"We've missed that laugh kiddo," Clint said softly. 

Her smile faded as she looked up at him. "Sorry."

It was the first word she had spoken. Natasha and Clint tried not to show their surprise. "It's not your fault, Wanda. You're going through it. You don't have to be happy and giggly all the time. We'll still love you." She put her arm out, sitting back against the headboard. Wanda hesitantly tucked under it and leaned into her side. She was rather tense. It took her a few minutes to relax into Natasha's side.

"We're here if you wanna talk about any of it Wanda," Clint said, voice gentle. "Any of us. All of us."

He looked at Natasha. They both knew she wasn't going to talk.

"Mind if I join the group hug? I'm a sucker for Guy's Grocery Games," Clint said. He waited for Wanda to nod before sliding over next to her on her other side. He left an inch or two of space in between them.

Wanda tilted her head against Natasha's shoulder. Natasha was surprised when Wanda grabbed her hand halfway through the episode. She looked down at her. Wanda was staring at the screen, eyes laser focused, following every movement of the contestant. He was using a large kitchen's knife. Duh. Natasha kicked herself. They had no idea what they used to hurt her. She squeezed her hand right back.

By two in the morning, Wanda had relaxed a lot. They had a feeling that the Vicodin had finally kicked in. Her head was on Natasha's thigh, staring at the tv with half lidded eyes. Clint had draped a blanket over her slight form before slumping back agaisnt some pillows, fingers knit together over his chest as he slept. Natasha ran her slender fingers through Wanda's hair compulsively, gently untangling any knots she found.

"I forgot to ask earlier," Natasha said quietly. Wanda tilted her head to look up at her. "Is there anywhere else I should be patching up?"

She held eye contact with Wanda, who bit her lip. Natasha knew that look well, deciding how much to disclose. How to to disclose to someone who had hurt you once before, even if on accident.

"I don't think you can do much for the bruises," Wanda spoke quietly. She rolled her head back down so she didn't have to look Natasha in the eye. "I think I have some cracked ribs. Some uh, cuts." She left it vague.

Natasha nodded slowly. "I can tape your ribs. Not much else to do. Are any of the cuts deep enough to need stitches?"

Wanda waited a minute before responding. "Probably. Some are older now."

That was worrisome, but Natasha knew Wanda didn't have the energy to sit through her touching her and looking her over. She could accept that for now.

"We can deal with that tomorrow," Natasha said quietly. She never stopped stroking her hair. "For now, I think sleep would help us both."

Wanda nodded. "Can you leave on the tv? I like the noise."

Natasha nodded. "No problem." Wanda had spent weeks alone in that cell, with only the guards' taunts there to fill the silence.

Natasha closed her eyes. She had no idea if Wanda would actually sleep or not, but relaxing was the next best thing. Her body needed to heal. Sleep was best, but lying still wasn't so bad either. She would take what she could get.

Wanda felt Natasha drift off behind her. She continued to stare at the tv with heavy eyelids. She was scared for sleep to take her. She had two of her favorite people in the whole wide world right next to her, two people who at points, she had trusted the most. Deep down, she knew they would never purposely hurt her. She also knew they would both be there when she woke up. Like Clint had said, they all would be. Wanda wasn't okay and she didn't have a problem admitting that to herself. She had a lot of reason not to be. She just hoped she'd finally be able to recover this time before another wave came and knocked her off her feet.

She finally gave into sleep around four in the morning. Some other cooking show that she had never seen or heard of came on as she drifted off. She stopped fighting her desire to sleep and trusted that the others would be there for her when she woke up. It would be a new day, full of new possibilities. Maybe this one would finally be bright.


	28. The Great Escape

It had been a rough two weeks for Natasha and Wanda. They had been out to lunch at a small cafe when they were kidnapped by Hydra. Somehow, Hydra had figured out who they were. They were taken so Hydra could try to take and weaponize Wanda's powers. SHIELD had taken all her files from Hydra, so all they knew was that she had gained her powers when volunteering. They hoped to take them back. Natasha was there mostly as leverage.

She had been sliced open and experimented on endlessly. They had taken blood, spinal fluid, and every other sample they could possibly take. Wanda knew they wouldn't find some magical power source inside of her. But of course, they didn't believe her.

They said that if she used her powers on them, they would kill Natasha. They had already broken her ankle and stabbed her in the side. Wanda wouldn't risk anything else. She would die herself before they hurt Natasha.

But one day when they dragged her in to the makeshift operating room, Wanda lost it. Her body was just so tired and overwhelmed and she was in so much pain and so upset and so darn hurt. Everything hurt. When that happened, her powers took over. Now was no different.

They went to strap down her arm when her powers started slipping out. Immediately, guns were on her.

"Watch out, witch. You don't want us to hurt your friend, do you?"

"No!" She yelled. But it didn't help. Her magic was escaping her whether she liked it or not. She saw them go to run down the hallway and aimed her hand and shot, and man did she hit.

She took down the two going towards Natasha. She looked around, panicked and dizzy, at the others in the room. They were in various states of shock.

She seized her opportunity and took them all out in one blast. Then she made her way down the hall.

She had seen Natasha only in passing. She made her way down the halls as quickly as she could, energy unconsciously knocking out everyone in the hallways near her.

She kept a hand on the wall to steady herself as she went as fast as she could towards Natasha. She was stumbling and tripping over herself, her free hand bracing her side. They always did her stitches loosely so they would be easy to reopen.

"Tasha?" She called desperately, flying around another corner. She hit her head on a door. She could feel her nose throbbing as she turned another corner. She kept calling for her.

Her energy was in full storm now. It stayed around her like a tornado. She could see through it, but the bullets flying around her could not penetrate it.

"Not another step witch!" Wanda heard a guard yell as she rounded another corner. Without even meaning to, she knocked him unconscious. Her energy reached out and threw him into a wall. Sometimes she was glad it was so linked to her emotions.

"Tasha," she said again. She could feel the storm dying down. She saw Natasha slumped against a concrete wall, separated from her by thick steel bars. She didn't look good either.

She leaned agaisnt the wall as she watched Natasha slowly get to her feet. Wanda noticed the alarmingly large pool of blood on the cement beneath her.

"Door," Natasha said in a hoarse voice. Wanda lifted her hand and bent some bars apart. She was seeing spots. There was no way she could open a door right now.

Natasha limped out. Her ankle was worse than Wanda remembered. There were cuts and spots of dried blood all over her. "You okay?" She asked Wanda quietly. She nodded blankly. She had no idea what to say.

"Good. We're leaving." Natasha proceeded to drag her leg behind her as she went down the hallway. Wanda took Natasha's arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. It helped both of them keep their balance.

They somehow managed to make it down two flights of stairs together and unnoticed. Then the alarms went off and they could hear yelling and running. They were going to be discovered soon.

Natasha pulled them around a corner and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths. Wanda stood next to her, trying to breathe through the pain. Her abdomen was bleeding again. She hoped it wasn't leaving a trail.

"Listen," Natasha said in a low voice. Wanda looked over at her. She was beyond pale. She was sure she was too. "We have less than a minute before they find us. I can't get us out of here. You can." She paused for a deep breath that seemed way too hard to take on. "The team has probably noticed your powers and are on their way here. My guess is there are at least 300 guards in this facility."

Wanda's eyes went wide as saucers. "Three hundred?"

Natasha swallowed and nodded. "I can't run and neither can you. We're both hurt too badly to get out like normal. You're gonna need to send a blast to knock them all out at once, then we're just gonna walk out the front door, hide, and wait."

Wanda breathed. Her eyes didn't get any smaller. "You can do this Wanda. You have to. Don't think about it. Just do it. When I go down, go."

Two guards rounded the corner. "They're here!"

Wanda took a few panicked breaths. Natasha managed to knock them out. Wanda had absolutely no idea how. She couldn't even walk.

"You're going to walk into that room and do it. Deep breath, then go." She gave Wanda a nod. She took a very, very deep breath, then headed in.

She panicked for a second. There had to be at least 100 people in the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Natasha go down to the floor. She let the panic and pain fuel her as she closed her eyes and released a pulse. Her vision went blurry and she reached out to the wall to hold herself upright.

Natasha carefully got to her feet, wincing. She looked around the room and her eyebrows rose. All of the people in the room were on the ground. It was quite a sight. Whether they were all dead or unconscious, she didn't know. She didn't stop to check. Then she saw Wanda leaning against the wall.

She limped over as fast as she could, just in time to pull Wanda's hair back as she emptied her stomach onto the ground.

"You did it," Natasha said quietly. "You did it. I honestly didn't know that could happen. Good job." She pulled Wanda's arm over her shoulder. She wasn't really with it. Natasha had a very, very hard time navigating the room. At least Wanda was still walking, even if it was only stumbling. Getting over and around the bodies was hard.

Finally, the fresh air hit them. Natasha let out a sigh of relief. Her ankle was throbbing. It wasn't straights. She could feel it.

She led Wanda across the road and down into a ditch. She stumbled a bit on the way in, tripping. She bit back a scream. She guessed they were stopping here.

Wanda sat back next to her. Natasha heard her pull in a sharp, shallow breath. Both of them were in crippling pain. Great.

"We're out," Wanda said softly. It almost came out as a cry. For a minute, the only sound was their labored pants. Then, "I'm never leaving the compound again."

Natasha closed her eyes and let out a breathy laugh. She couldn't help it. Wanda gave her a confused look. "Wanda, if we make it back alive, we're staying in your room and watching movies for a month. No training."

"That sounds nice," Wanda said. Her hand went back to her abdomen. She was only in a hospital gown. It was soaked.

Natasha huffed and closed her eyes, slouching into the ditch. "Lie down and relax. It'll help slow the bleeding." She didn't have the strength or energy to tear off parts of her shirt or put pressure on Wanda's wound.

They didn't know how long they stayed slouched in the dirt for. The sun had long since gone down. It was pitch black around them and it was below freezing. Wanda was shivering and shaking in her hospital gown.

"C'mere," Natasha said hoarsely. She pulled Wanda into her side. "You've got to warm up. Don' fall asleep." Not that she was terribly warm either. At least she had jeans on, albeit they were terribly ripped and dirty.

They heard a car speeding on the road above them. Wanda held her breath and Natasha held her a little closer. It passed.

It was about an hour before they heard voices. Men's voices. They held their breath again. They could see the light from industrial flashlights on the trees around them.

"We're gonna find them," Steve said. "Tony's going the other way. We'll keep the ten mile radius. We'll find them."

"One way or another," Bruce said darkly. "It's freezing out, Steve."

Natasha's eyes shot open. They met Wanda's. "Is that them?"

They waited another minute with bated breath, listening to them converse. Natasha took a deep breath. She licked her lips and took the chance. "Here." Her voice didn't get very loud, but the flashlights froze.

"Did you hear that?" Steve asked. He froze and looked at Bruce, who hesitantly went towards the side of the road.

"Nat? Was that you?"

Natasha was exhausted. She jostled Wanda. "Your turn."

Wanda swallowed. "Here." Her voice was much louder than Natasha's. She hoped and prayed Steve and Bruce would find them now.

Wanda felt like she was going to cry again at the silence that followed. Then the flashlights shine on her legs.

"Found them!" Steve yelled. Then there was the sound of rapid footsteps.

"Oh god," Steve breathed. He kneeled down next to Wanda. He put his flashlight on the ground facing the sky. Bruce did the same as he got down on the ground next to Natasha.

Wanda grabbed Natasha's hand as Steve and Bruce rapidly called into the coms. "Wanda, what happened? Don't fall asleep on me kiddo. Is it all your blood?"

Wanda nodded tiredly. She looked over as Bruce helped Natasha sit up. "Cut me open," she said quietly. She hoped he wouldn't ask her any more questions. She was so tired. Everything really hurt.

"Nat, your ankle," Bruce said quietly. "How long ago."

She breathed out loudly as he gently prodded at her ankle. "Maybe a week?"

Bruce and Steve exchanged a look. They clearly weren't going to get much information with Wanda and Natasha so out of it.

"She's hypothermic," Natasha croaked out. She squeezed Wanda's hand again. How could she not be? It wasn't even 20°F and all she had on was the paper thin cloth hospital gown.

"Tony's on his way with the car. We'll turn the heat on full blast. Clint's in the quinjet maybe ten miles out. We got you two," Bruce said.

"One quick question then we'll leave you be," Steve said. Bruce looked at him curiously. "Over a hundred men unconscious in the building. How's you do it?"

Natasha tilted her head at Wanda. "Her. One pulse and they were all down." They sat in stunned silence until they heard the van pull up.

When Tony got there, the four of them were still in the ditch on the side of the road. Steve waved him over.

Tony watched in horror as Bruce came up to the road practically carrying Natasha, whose badly botched and swollen ankle was being dragged behind her uselessly. He helped her lower herself into the back seat. She let out a sharp cry and hiss as he helped her move her bad leg in.

And the Steve came up. Wanda was cradled to his chest, bare legged and soaked in blood. He slid her into the middle seat. She leaned into Natasha's side.

Bruce hopped in on Wanda's other side and Steve climbed in the front. Tony took off, speeding away down the road. Bruce threw a blanket over the two of them and tucked it around Wanda's thigh. She seemed too tired to care. Steve turned the heat on as high as it would go.

Clint rushed to the van as it pulled onto the hangar. Bruce lifted Wanda onto a stretcher as Steve helped Natasha lie down on the other one.

Steve and Tony headed to the front to take them back to New York. Bruce and Clint wheeled the gurneys to the makeshift med bay. Bruce hustled around, grabbing saline, gauze, and all the other medical supplies they had.

Wanda tried to sit up. "She's right next to you kiddo," Clint said quietly. He threw a blanket over her. She really was freezing.

He went over to Natasha as Bruce started an IV in Wanda's hand. She watched him work with half lidded eyes. He looked at her and met her eyes briefly. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"The saline's been warmed up. It should help both of you. You're both a little hypothermic. Wanda, you've got to change into something warmer. That hospital gown isn't helping you, and I have to look at your abdomen."

She resisted the urge to groan loudly. Moving was the last thing she wanted to do right now. It was going to hurt when he poked around at her abdomen.

But Natasha had always seemed to be able to read her mind. "Can we have a few minutes Bruce?"

He looked hesitant. He exchanged a look with Clint, who nodded. "Alright. I'll go update Steve and Tony. Nat, you're definitely going to need surgery for that ankle when we get back. Wanda, we've gotta figure out what they did to you."

She looked over at Natasha longingly. Clint pushed the gurneys together. Natasha picked up Wanda's IV free hand. She looked over at her.

"Tasha," Wanda said throatily.

"Yeah Wands?"

"Can we really spend a month off of training?"

Clint burst out laughing. He had to hold his sides. They both looked at him. He wiped tears from his eyes as he looked up at them, red faced.

"Where the heck did that come from?" He asked Wanda, grinning. She bit her lip. Laughing would really hurt.

"Tasha said if we got out alive that we could stay in bed and watch movies for a month. No training."

He raised his eyebrows and turned to Natasha. "Well that certainly doesn't sound like her."

Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled affectionately at Wanda. "Between the two of us, I think we're gonna have enough surgeries and broken bones and problems to keep us laid up for more than that."

She smiled. "So yeah, bed rest and movies for a month."

Wanda hummed happily and scooted closer to Natasha. She let out a small gasp as her abdomen contorted painfully.

Clint immediately got to his feet. "You okay Wanda? I think there's morphine back here somewhere."

She nodded and leaned her head against Natasha's chest, who leaned her cheek against the top of Wanda's head. "Yes please."

Natasha let out a sigh. "Some for me too please."

Clint froze for a moment. Natasha rarely accepted pain medicine. Her ankle must have really been killing her. He didn't comment as he injected ten milligrams into both their IVs.

Clint sighed as he sat back down in his chair. "You two might as well get some sleep. It's gonna be awhile before we touch down in New York."

Wanda didn't think she could fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was the doctors leaning over her. But then Natasha kissed the top of her head tenderly and she felt warmer inside. Natasha always said she would do her best to keep her bad dreams away. Wanda trusted that even battered and bruised, she would still chase away her demons. She nodded off knowing that she had a long recovery ahead of her, but she also had at least a months of movies and slumber parties with Natasha.


	29. Safe in Wakanda (Part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By request, because apparently people liked these ones!
> 
> Tw: implied sexual assault

Wanda woke up with a blanket over her. Her head was still on Natasha's leg. Light was streaming in around the curtains. She sat up slowly, her hand going to her neck. She panicked for a moment before she remembered it was just the gauze.

"Hey," Natasha said. Wanda looked up at her and smiled lightly. Natasha started carding her fingers through Wanda's hair again. Neither of them wanted to get up.

A few minutes later, they heard Clint groan loudly. They watched as he arched his back, which cracked loudly. He blinked at them.

"I'm old. So what?" Natasha smiled and shook her head fondly.

He stood up and stretched. "Can I get us some breakfast? I'm hungry and this place has the best bacon and tater tots ever."

Wanda mumbled something. Natasha leaned in closer. "What was that?"

"Kosher," she said a little bit louder. She didn't lift her head up.

Natasha nodded. "Fruit and potatoes are fine for us, Clint." He nodded and slipped out.

Natasha took a few moments to collect her thoughts. At least Wanda wasn't as tense today. "How are you feeling?"

Wanda shrugged. "How am I supposed to feel?" Natasha didn't have an answer for that. Thankfully, Clint was quick with grabbing their food.

Wanda sat up slowly, wincing. Natasha's hand instinctively went out to help her up, but she resisted. She knew Wanda didn't want or need that.

Clint put the platter down on the bed and hoppped on, lying on his side. He flicked on the tv as he grabbed a piece of bacon from a separate plate.

Wanda picked at the food. Thankfully since the three of them were sharing one plate, Wanda didn't feel the pressure to finish everything. The tater tots were crunchy and rough, so she avoided them. Clint had grabbed some applesauce too. She ate a few scoops and called it a meal.

"This fruit is really good," Natasha commented, popping another strawberry in her mouth. "I wonder if they grow it here."

"I think they grow it. They have tons of fields and farms out there. Maybe we could walk around today."

Wanda really didn't want to. Thankfully, Natasha knew that.

"Do the people of Wakanda even know we're here? T'Challa said he won't report us. We don't know about everyone else." Clint nodded. Natasha had a point. Wanda felt herself relax.

"But maybe we could get out of this room today," Natasha commented. She locked eyes with Wanda. "It's not healthy to stay in a dark room all day."

That was not the first time Natasha had told her that. It didn't mean that Wanda wanted to disagree any less.

"Yeah," Clint agreed. "We could all watch a movie together in the lounge. It's really weird when it's just me and Steve. Sam and Scott are off doing other stuff in their rooms usually. I don't wanna know."

"Great. Maybe we'll be down for lunch?" Natasha said, looking at Wanda. She just stared back at her. She really didn't want to move.

"Maybe it is," Clint said. "I'm gonna out together a fancy sandwich platter. I don't care if anyone eats them. I'm bored. I'll make BLTs for both of you?" Natasha nodded before he left.

“We’ll make yours without the bacon. Just tomato and lettuce.”

Wanda couldn't help but let out a sharp sigh after he left. Natasha squeezed her shoulder and Wanda tried to hold back her tears. Natasha pulled her into a gentle side hug, giving her all the chance to lean away.

"What are you feeling?"

Wanda sniffed and let out a breath, trying to get herself back under control. She couldn't pinpoint just one reason why she was so upset. There were so many to choose from.

"When I leave this room, I have to go back to the real world." Natasha held her a little bit tighter. "And all the people in it."

"I can see that," Natasha responded calmly. "The real world and a whole lot of the people in it definitely suck right now, but the ones right down the hallway don't. They love you."

Wanda sighed and wiped away a tear. She nodded against her shoulder. "I don't want any of Clint's sandwiches."

Natasha chuckled. "Me neither, but I'm taking pity on him." She rubbed Wanda's arm for another few minutes. "Last night, I said stitches would be today's problem. Do you think I could knock those out before the movie?"

She quietly played with loose threads on the comforter. "I know it is necessary." Natasha took that as a yes before going and grabbing the first aid kit again.

When she came back, Wanda was exactly where she left her. Natasha felt bad, knowing she was going to probably have to cause her more pain.

"Where are the worst ones? They might not even need sutures," Natasha said gently. She felt even worse when she Wanda pale a little.

"Probably my leg and stomach," she said quietly, but made no move to show Natasha either. She really hoped she wouldn't have to prompt Wanda every step.

"Okay, which one do you want me to start with?"

Wanda let out a shaky breath as she lay back and lifted up the hem of her sweatshirt with trembling fingers. Natasha sat down carefully next to her.

Her stomach flipped. It was definitely going to need stitches. The cut was at least six inches long and an inch deep. The edges looked red and angry. It certainly wasn't going to heal on its own.

"I think this one's definitely going to need sutures, Wands. I'm just gonna numb it up and try to go fast." Natasha pulled the syringe out of the kit and cleaned off the space around the wound with alcohol swabs. She heard Wanda let out a shaky breath and looked at her face. Her eyes were clenched closed tightly. She looked like she might start crying again.

Natasha relaxed and put the needle down. "Wanda," she said softly, putting a hand out to cup her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

Wanda inhaled and held it. "Sorry. I know I'm acting like a child."

She shook her head. "You're not. You're just scared and that's okay. Did they inject you with things there?"

Wanda relaxed into her hand. She let out the breath and nodded. "Paralytics."

Out of everything Natasha had possibly expected to come out of her mouth, that wasn't it. She had expected maybe poisons or medicines to make her drowsy. But paralytics? That was pretty much the worst possible scenario. She had no idea how to mcuh they had done to her, and she couldn't even move to respond.

"Okay. Thanks for trusting me with that," Natasha said softly. She used her thumb to wipe away a tear that ran down her face. "You don't have to stay completely still. Your hands are free. You just have to try to keep your abdomen still. Do you think you can do that? We can take breaks." Wanda nodded and clenched her eyes shut again. Natasha assumed this was as good as it was going to get.

She talked Wanda through every step. She flinched at the needles going in and the stitches going through her skin. Natasha felt like the most horrible person on the planet as she watched a few stray tears escape Wanda's eyes silently. Her fingers grasped and played with the comforter.

Natasha finished the row in about half an hour. She dressed the bandage as quick as she could and prayed that she wouldn't have to redo them. "Done."

Wanda let out another shaky breath. "Thanks. I guess you want to do my leg next."

Natasha took a minute to gently run her thumb over Wanda's milky skin. She knew even numbed up, stitches could hurt, especially at the edges. "I do. Do you want me to go grab you an ice pack before I do it? Or a few?"

Wanda shook her head. "I just wanna get it over with."

It took all of Natasha not to yell and hit something when she saw the deep cut on Wanda's thigh. It wasn't the cut so much as the bruises around it. More so, above it, disappearing under Wanda's shorts that she had changed into. But she didn't want to freak Wanda out.

"Do you need to see a gynecologist?"

Wanda let out a fast breath. "Please don't make me."

Natasha instantly regretted asking. "I won't. Sorry. But you could see one here if you felt like you needed to." She really didn't want to ask the next question. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Wanda shook her head. "They said they didn't want to leave DNA. They did other things." Natasha certainly wasn't going to pry. She knew she had already essentially forced Wanda to share more than she was comfortable with.

Natasha felt just as guilty stitching up her leg as she did her abdomen. Wanda's other leg bounced nervously and her toes curled and uncurled uncomfortably. Now that Natasha's picture of what had happened was growing, she got it. She worked even faster than before, not caring as much if the stitches were tight and neat.

Eventually, she finished. Wanda was as white as a sheet and trembling slightly. "I'm done. I'm so sorry Wanda. We don't have to watch a movie with Clint and Steve today. We can do it tomorrow if you want."

Wanda shook her head, wiping away another stray tear. "No. I know I should. They will just worry more."

Natasha rubbed her back gently. "Whatever you want. You don't have to push yourself."

"But I should. I'm not supposed to be this weak."

"Wanda Maximoff, you are not weak," Natasha said firmly. "I think you've proven that to everyone by being here. Honestly, you're doing better than I think any of us expected. And I know you haven't seen them, but the others aren't doing so great either," Natasha told her with a sad smile. "Steve especially. He's blaming himself for all of this. He could use some company beyond Clint and his sandwiches, but that doesn't have to be you."

Wanda slowly sat up. "Steve should not be blaming himself. None of this is his fault."

Natasha looked her in the eye. "It's not yours either. Nothing that happened to you is."

They held eye contact for a few moments. Wanda opened her mouth to argue, but Natasha beat her to it. "It's not. You don't have to believe me, but just know that."

Wanda nodded and looked over at the clock. It was past eleven. "Clint will want us soon."

Natasha shrugged. "He can wait. You're just as important, you know." She knew Wanda didn't agree. "We'll meet him at noon? We can get in an episode of whatever's on the DIY channel." Wanda nodded. She changed back into sweatpants to cover the bandage before going to the common area they shared.

The movie and sandwiches with the group were fun. Wanda was incredibly nervous to go out of her room. She was convinced it was all some trick to get her back in the Raft, coaxing her out. But she ate half a BLT and she barely had to talk. Steve did enough talking for the four of them. Natasha had been right. He was lonely and not doing well at all.

He had gone to give Wanda a warm hug before she flinched away. They both apologized fervently. Thankfully, Clint was there to interrupt.

He wasn't kidding when he said he was going to make a sandwich platter. He made at least 12 normal sized sandwiches, cut them all into quarters, took off the crusts, and put toothpicks in them. He was very proud of his creation and also downed about half the platter himself.

They kept it light, watching Air Buddies. No one protested. Clint said his kids loved it. Maybe they were all adults, but they had seen a lot of darkness recently. They could use some levity and puppies. Plus, none of them dared to watch a movie that might have a sex scene or any sort of violence in it. It didn't matter how small.

Wanda sat alone, curled up in a plush armchair, a large blanket pulled tightly around her herself. Steve was surprised she didn't curl into Natasha's side like she always did on movie nights, but Clint told him not to say anything. They were all just glad she was out of her room and willing to spend time around them.

She even ate dinner with everyone that night in the kitchen. She didn't eat much, but she had come so far in just three short days. She barely pulled at the gauze around her neck and accepted more pain pills from Natasha. She liked listening to Scott talk about Cassie and what she was probably up to. She didn't know much about him. And of course, she loved hearing Clint talk about his family's water skiing trip. T'Challa had gave him a special like to call Laura on. It was just the light storytelling she needed.

In fact, she had such a good time with them all that she was nervous to go to bed, alone, in her room that night. What would she do if they came for her and no one was there to help?

Natasha noticed Wanda nervously hovering in front of her own door. She was confused as she went off to shower. She hadn't even expected Wanda to last the whole movie, but now she didn't seem to want to go back into her room. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she probably just didn't want to be left alone again.

Natasha knocked on Wanda's door after her shower, dressed in sweats again. Wanda opened it hesitantly, then opened it all the way when she saw it was just Natasha.

Natasha hopped on her bed and turned on the tv. "I was thinking I could sleep in here again. Yours have a better view than my room. Do you mind? You can absolutely say no."

Wanda shook her head and closed the door behind her. She sat down next to Natasha on the mattress. "Do you mind staying in here with me?"

Natasha shook her head, eyes furrowing together. "I want to. I've been on the run, alone, for the last few weeks. Honestly, I don't want to be alone anymore."

She smiled to herself as she felt Wanda lean into her side. There she was. They lay back against the pillows, Wanda's head on Natasha's thigh again, just like the night before, but this time, she wasn't nearly as tense. She was thankful to have Natasha in the room with her. Even after everything they had been through, she still trusted her with her life. Neither of them had any clue when they could go back to the US, but at least they had each other, here and now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop prompts you want to see for FIRSTS! (eg first time driving a car, first time celebrating Halloween, etc)


	30. Halloween

October was Wanda's new favorite month. She decidedly loved fall. Natasha had gotten her addicted to pumpkin flavored everything and bought her a comfy flannel shirt. Black leggings seemed to be what everyone wore. Wanda loved hers and was glad she could fit in wearing them in public. The leaves were so pretty and the orange and red of the trees brought a different kind of energy to the days.

Her and Natasha's runs were just a little bit easier as it got cooler out and the trees got pretty. She could finally run comfortably in leggings and long sleeves. She preferred long sleeves to hide all her scars. She wore them in the summer too, just found herself getting hot quicker.

Wanda didn't think that fall could get any better. After learning that Americans flavored everything with pumpkin and its spices, she didn't give a second thought to Tony bringing home some full sized pumpkins from the grocery store. She was a little confused that he seemed to be using the foods as decorations, but decided not to comment.

That is, until she came into the kitchen one day to find Sam and Tony carving faces into them with knives. Natasha was watching them, slowly sipping on her pumpkin spiced latte.

"What is this?" Wanda asked, slowly lowering herself next to Natasha. "I have nevet seen someone prepare fruit as such."

"We're preparing them for Halloween, not to eat," Sam said, emptying the insides into a bowl. "Wanna help?"

She looked at Natasha. "And this is normal? To destroy the pumpkins?"

Natasha laughed. "Yeah. For whatever reason, in America, people carve faces into them and put candles on the inside so it lights up at night." She shrugged. "Carve one. It can be fun. You're an artsy person."

Wanda slid down into a chair next to Sam. He slid a pumpkin in front of her on some newspapers.

Sam helped her because she wasn't pushing hard enough with the knife to get through the top of the pumpkin. They talked her through scooping out the insides into a bowl as she watched Tony draw his Iron Man form on the front of his in sharpie.

Natasha was right. Wanda did love art. They told her that it didn't have to be a face, to get creative with it. She decided on leaves and a pumpkin.

Tony looked over at hers. "A pumpkin on a pumpkin? Interesting," he commented judgementally.

She looked at his. "You are putting yourself on the pumpkin, no?"

Sam and Natasha laughed as Tony sighed, a smile spreading across his face. "You've got me there, kiddo."

Wanda's carving was surprisingly precise for her first time. Her final design was very clearly a pumpkin and leaves.

She washed her hands at the sink as Natasha surveyed their final products. "So what happens now?"

"Now," Natasha said, "we put candles in them and turn off the lights in the room."

Tony twisted the holders into the insides and put candles in them. Sam turned off the light and Natasha lit them up.

Wanda gasped quietly when Sam turned the light off. They were beautiful. The light illuminated her design perfectly.

"These will look great outside on Halloween," Sam commented, smiling at their finished creations.

Wanda turned to him. "What happens on Halloween in America?"

Tony flicked the lights back on. "Did they not have Halloween in Sokovia?"

"No, we did," she said. "Children went from door to door in costumes with pillowcases begging for food scraps."

Well that was sad. Natasha and Sam exchanged a look. "Well in America, everyone dresses up and kids ask for candy. Lots of it. Everyone gets candy," Sam said.

"Everyone?"

Natasha smiled and nodded. "Everyone. Have you ever had a Twix?"

Wanda shook her head slowly. "Sometimes our neighbor would give us slices of chicken and a kind man down the street gave us carrots. Is a Twix a kind of candy?"

"The superior candy," Tony corrected. "It's caramel and chocolate on a biscuit."

"He's mistaken, Wanda," Sam said. Tony crossed his arms in defiance, glaring at him. "Kit Kats are the superior candy. Layers of chocolate and wafers."

They put out the candles and cleaned up their messes before heading off to shower. Natasha and Wanda headed off the their rooms for the night. "By the way Wanda, they were both wrong," she said.

Wanda frowned. "How so?"

"Milky Ways are the superior candy. Just wait and see."

Wanda was sure American Halloween would be a different kind of holiday for her. She smiled to herself as she changed into pajamas. She was rather excited for it.

The next day, Steve gave everyone the day off from training so they could go shopping for Halloween supplies. Peter joined them.

"Oh man Wanda, you're going to love Halloween. There's so much candy and there's parties and you could definitely come to my friend Ned's party after we go trick or treating. High school parties are a right of passage in America," he babbled as he clawed through a rack of costumes. Wanda shot Natasha a wild look. She snorted and came over to them.

"You know, I think Clint's going to bring his kids to the city this year to trick or treat. They're going to be with us too. If you can't find a costume, I'm sure Lila would love to match with you. And you don't have to go to a high school party."

"Oh!" Peter said loudly, wide eyed. "Oh my god, yeah, you don't have to come. I just thought it might be fun, ya know? Ned and MJ are really nice and there will be a bunch of other kids there our age." She nodded politely. She really had no intention of going.

Natasha called Clint and had Wanda talk to Lila after half an hour. She didn't love any of the costumes.

"Hi Wanda!" Lila yelled into the phone.

Wanda giggled. "Hey Li. So your dad said you might join us for Halloween this year?"

Lila babbled excitedly about how much fun it would be.

"Do you think we could match costumes?" Wanda asked. "I am having a hard time finding one."

She grinned as she had to pull the phone away from her ear. Lila squealed loudly. "Oh my god ye. Can we? That could be so cool. I asked mom if I could be a witch this year." Natasha cackled behind her. The irony. "I'm wearing a tutu and tights and a pointy hat and ohmygosh I'll text you a picture to go off of. Hang on."

Natasha's phone pinged as the picture came through. It was adorable. Lila was wearing purple and black striped tights with a puffy black tutu over them. She had a black cardigan over a black tank top. She had on a traditional costume-y witch hat, with a purple ribbon around. She was wearing grey combat boots that looked an awful lot like the ones Wanda owned. She was holding Laura's swiffer in the picture and grinning ear to ear. Wanda put a hand over her heart. She was melting just looking at the picture.

"This is adorable Lila. I love it. Is this doable?" She asked Natasha, who was looking over her shoulder.

She nodded. "Easily. We can get all this. You already have the boots and bodysuit. You can wear black spandex over the tights." Wanda nodded.

"We'll get the items today, Lila. See you on Halloween?"

"See you then Wanda!" She squealed again loudly. "I'm so excited." Then she promptly hung up.

Natasha and Wanda burst into laughter. Lila's excitement was contagious.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a witch for Halloween," Wanda said, grinning, as her laughter died down. She bit her lip to control herself.

Natasha grinned. "Me neither. This is too funny. We've gotta go tell Steve and find you this stuff." 

He laughed heartily when Natasha showed him the picture and told him their plan. "You're going to a very believable witch, Wanda," he told her, a sparkle in his eye.

The black tutu was easy enough to find. So were the tights and the hat, but they couldn't find one with purple ribbon.

Wanda came out of another aisle to find Natasha texting rapidly. "Laura said she bought the ribbon and glued it to Lila's hat. We can use the rest. So we know they'll match perfectly." She smiled at Wanda.

"I'm very excited," Wanda told her. "Is it weird to be this excited?"

Natasha slung an arm around her shoulders. "Not at all. Besides, I don't think you can possibly be more excited than Lila. Let's go. We need to find some candy."

They got five bags of assorted candy and checked out with her costume items. Natasha said she already had hers back at the compound.

The team finally checked out. Between all of them, there were at least 20 bags of candy. They sat around in the main room, breaking them in.

"Is this not all supposed to be for Halloween?" Wanda asked as Tony ate yet another mini Twix.

"We'll get more. This is to help us get in the mood," he explained.

Natasha rolled her eyes. Hard. She leaned over to whisper in Wanda's ear. "I put two of the assorted bags under my bed. Don't worry." Wanda giggled and nodded.

She had to admit that Natasha was right. Milky Ways were her favorite, but Three Musketeers were a close second. She couldn't wait for Halloween.

The day finally came. Natasha woke her up, knocking on her door at eight. Wanda opened the door with furrowed eyebrows. Natasha was grinning.

"It's Lila. She wants to talk about how you're doing your hair." Wanda smiled and relaxed. She gave Natasha a quiet thank you and took the phone.

She lay back on her bed, relaxing, as she listened to Lila go on and on about hairstyles. Lila said she didn't want to a ponytail or a single braid because it would get hidden under the hat. Wanda hummed her agreement in all the right places, smiling to herself. She didn't say a single word. She listened to Lila talk herself through two braids or hair down. A full hour later, she finally decided on hair down and straightened.

"Thanks for your help Wanda. It was a hard decision to make," Lila said.

Wanda laughed. "It was all you myshka." She heard Lila giggle at the nickname. Her little mouse.

"See you at one?" Lila asked. Wanda nodded. She really hadn't known anything about the timing of the day.

She headed into Natasha's room next door to give her back her phone. She gasped when she opened the door. Natasha had on a long sleeve white t shirt with a blue and white checkered dress over it. Her bright red hair was in two braids upward bending with little blue ribbons at the end. She had black Mary Jane shoes on to complete the outfit. There were three large red freckles drawn on each cheek.

Natasha smiled at her reaction. She stood up and did a little twirl. "What do you think?"

Wanda's mouth remained open. "You are the woman from that fast food restaurant, with the good potatoes."

That gave Natasha a good laugh. "Yes, Wendy's."

Wanda laughed. "Spot on, Tasha."

"Thank you. Now let's get you ready. What did Lil decide on?"

"Down and straightened."

Natasha nodded. "Go get dressed and I'll do your hair and makeup. Only if you want."

Wanda nodded, smiling softly. "Yes please."

By noon, they had eaten breakfast and were sitting in Wanda's room. Natasha was finishing straightening her hair. Then she gingerly placed the hat on Wanda's head. She rested her chin on Wanda's shoulder as the both looked her over in the mirror.

"You look great," Natasha said honestly. She adjusted Wanda's hat a little on her head. Wanda smiled. She had never had such a costume.

By one, Natasha, Wanda, Steve, Tony, and Sam were sitting around the common room. Steve was in a dinosaur costume because he lost a bet to Sam. Tony was in his iron man suit, of course. Sam stuck with a classic skeleton suit. He was so proud to tell them it glowed in the dark.

Clint, Laura, Lila, Cooper, and Nate arrived exactly at one. Clint and Laura were Mickey and Minnie. Nate was in a Mickey Mouse onesie. Halloween was hard for babies. Cooper was dressed as a ninja. Then there was Lila, fully dressed up in her witch costume. She sprinted over and latched onto Wanda's side. Clint and Laura grinned and they took a million pictures.

"Lila, you look wonderful," Wanda said, smiling at her.

Lila grabbed her hands, jumping up and down. "You too Wanda." She turned to Natasha and gasped. "And you're Wendy!"

Natasha smirked. "I am."

They had lots of fun at what Tony called the "before party." Peter showed up dressed as a ninja turtle. He looked great. Everyone looked great. They ate chips and candy and drank soda, basically consuming everything Natasha never chose to eat. But she did down a mini bag of mini milky ways by herself.

By six, the sun was starting to go down. "Alright, everyone ready to go out?" Clint asked, getting up, Nate on his hip gurgling away.

"Adults knock on doors to beg too?" Wanda asked.

Laura laughed. "Don't think of it as begging, Wanda. You're being rewarded for showing off your awesome costume."

They all took lots of pictures before heading off. Lila and Wanda had the most. Everyone absolutely loved their matching costumes.

"Now the kids," Clint said, gesturing for them all to get together.

Natasha nudged Wanda. "You're a kid. Get in there." Tony did the same to Peter after Clint and Laura had enough family pictures.

Laura handed Nate over to Wanda, who held him on her hip. She smiled, really smiled, as Lila wrapped her arm around Wanda's waist. Cooper stood next to his sister. Peter's arm wrapped around his shoulders. All of them were grinning ear to ear as the adults took lots of pictures.

Wanda felt a little awkward walking around with such a large group. She felt like she was much too old for this, but Lila was just so excited to have her matching with her. The group decided to split in two after one street. Natasha, Clint, Laura and their kids went one way. Tony, Steve, Sam, and Peter went another.

All the people's doors they knocked on gushed over the pair. A husband and wife grinned at them. "You two look like twins," the woman told her kindly before moving onto Cooper and gushing over his ninja suit. They hit many more comments similar to that as they made their way down the street. Wanda found herself really having fun with it. By eight, they had covered a lot of the New York suburb they had went to. All three of the kids had overflowing buckets of candy. Laura had brought Wanda a cauldron shaped candy bucket so her and Lila could have matching ones.

"Wanna head back to the compound? We can spread it all out and sort through it," Clint said. They all nodded. There were no protests. Lila was getting tired.

They met up with the others back at the compound, where Tony took Peter to his party.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come tonight?" He asked her. She nodded. "Well, this one is just chill and watching movies and eating candy. We're having a real party Friday night. Wanna come to that one?"

Wanda looked to Natasha for permission before she nodded. "I would like that, Peter," she told him, a small smile playing on her lips. He grinned as he waved goodbye.

The adults checked over the candy Wanda and the other kids got before they ate it. Then it was a free for all.

"Remember kiddos," Laura told Cooper and Lila. "You can take it home. Don't make yourselves sick."

Natasha leaned over to Wanda. "You too. You know your limits." Her and Wanda had the best time eating so much of her candy.

Steve turned on the Addams Family for them all to watch as they dug through the candy. By the end of the Addams Family Values, they were all sitting in a pile of wrappers.

Lila yawned and leaned into her mom's side. "Getting tired Li?" Laura asked. Lila shook her head stubbornly.

"If you ask nicely, maybe Auntie Nat and Wanda will let you sleep over," Clint suggested. "But they also might be tired."

Lila looked at them with puppy dog eyes. "Auntie Nat, Wanda, can I sleep over?" They looked at each other before nodding. Lila grinned.

Clint and Laura shared his room, Nate between them. Cooper slept on the couch in the main room. Lila, Natasha, and Wanda all piled into Natasha's bed that night. While Lila was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, Wanda and Natasha finally had a moment to themselves.

"So what do you think of American Halloween?" Natasha asked. "I hated it the first year I was here."

Wanda smiled. "I think I like it. It would not have been as much fun without everyone else." She blushed. "Without you and Lila, specifically."

Natasha wrapped an arm around her as they lay back among the pillows. "Well luckily for you, that's who you're going to spend your Halloween with for awhile. Well, until Lila gets too cool and goes to parties. But you're stuck with me." Natasha smiled affectionately.

Wanda smiled and leaned into her shoulder as Natasha flicked on the tv. "How lucky I am to be stuck with you."

Lila jumped onto the bed excitedly and wiggled in between them. They watched lighthearted Halloween movies until late, when they finally fell asleep. It was the best Halloween Wanda had ever had and she couldn't wait for the next one.


	31. Movie Night

It had been a long and monotonous week of training. Bruce and Tony were out of town at some conference. Thor was home in Asgard and Rhodes and Sam were at a veterans retreat. Clint, Steve, Natasha, and Wanda were the only ones in the compound for the weekend.

Steve decided to give them Saturday off. Natasha did not. "Just a morning session," she pushed. She folded her arms over her chest. Wanda nodded. Natasha was her mentor and she didn't dare argue. Besides, she always felt better about herself the rest of the day after she got a workout of some kind in.

They all sat down together to eat lunch. Natasha blended up fruit smoothies for Wanda and herself.

"So what are we doing the rest of the day?" Clint asked. "I was gonna run out to the grocery store."

"We haven't had movie night in awhile," Steve commented. "I know it'll just be the four of us, but we could do movie and games. Pizza?"

They all agreed it sounded like fun. Clint said he would get some on his way back from the store. Wanda and Natasha headed off to shower while Steve worked on trying to find board games and card games for them to play.

Wanda came out of her room, hair hanging in wet streaks, wearing leggings and a long sleeve tee. She giggled at the sight in front of her.

Steve was sitting in the ground, a cabinet open in front of him. There were at least fifteen board games all around him. Their directions were everywhere.

He looked up when he heard her giggle. He smiled. "Hey Wanda. Have you ever played any of these?"

She sat down cross legged next to him. She looked over the boxes.

"Monopoly is familiar," she said. "My dad used to sell it. It was fairly popular."

He sighed. "Yeah, that's the only one I know too."

"I don't know if we wanna play Monopoly," Natasha said from behind them. She was leaning on the doorway. "It can take forever and tear families apart."

The three of them sorted through the games for another hour, lying on the floor. Steve found battleship in the back of the cabinet. He yelled out triumphantly.

"Buck and I used to play this all the time as kids!" He said, a grin spreading across his face. "This looks like a newer version, but it's nice to see some things never change.

Wanda looked over at the box curiously. "Battleship?"

"It's only one of the best games ever created," Steve said. "You're going to love it. Right Nat?"

Natasha shrugged. "As long as we get in at least one round of Uno, I'm happy. Battleship is simple, but it's entertaining to watch everyone get frustrated." Wanda giggled.

"How does one play Uno?" She asked.

"Well, it's a card game," Natasha began. She and Steve gave Wanda a run down on all of the games. By the time they finished explaining the rules, Clint walked in.

"Hey guys. Got some snacks for tonight too. Can I get some help unpacking and unloading. Wanda, can you do that thing where you open all the cabinets and float stuff in all in like a minute?"

She nodded and shrugged. "Sure."

She unbagged everything while they brought in the rest of the bags. Then they all sat down at the counter to watch her.

Steve grinned. "Do your thing."

Within thirty seconds, the ten plus grocery bags' contents were put away in an orderly fashion. Red flew the objects around in organized chaos, boxes flying into cabinets and refrigerator compartments opening and closing rapidly. Clint cheered as she closed the cabinets.

Natasha shook her head. "Out of everything you can do, that's gotta be one of the coolest," she commented. "Now let's get to gaming."

Clint put the four boxes of pizza he picked up on the table beside the open Battleship box. For someone who liked it so much, Steve wasn't very good. Or maybe Natasha was just that skilled. Wanda was just watching the first round. She looked over Natasha's shoulder at her board. Steve had yet to hit a ship. She had sunk three of his. Clint had two down.

"D5," Steve said to Natasha. She shook her head. He sighed and pushed a clear plastic piece into his hoard. "How Nat? How is that? Where are all your ships?"

Wanda giggled. Natasha's ships were all in a row in row A. Neither Clint nor Steve had guessed there yet. Clint had told her the secret was to start in the middle and work your way out. Maybe that's why Natasha was playing the way she was (and winning).

"F6," Natasha said defiantly a few minutes later. Clint had taken down Steve's smallest boat a few turns ago. Steve sighed and put his chin in his hand. He locked eyes with Natasha. "Say it."

Steve stuck a peg in his board. He did not look happy. "Say it Steve."

He shook his head and sighed again. "You sunk my battleship."

She cheered and high fived Wanda. Steve laws his board. "I'm tired of this game," he mumbled. Clint and Natasha laughed.

"Uno it is," Natasha said, folding her board. Clint followed suit. Wanda didn't really mind. She didn't think Battleship looked like much fun. It was better to watch.

"But first, pizza," Clint announced, opening the top box. Steve hadn't let them eat during the game. He didn't want them getting grease on the boards. The pizza was delicious. Wanda liked the store bought taste and the bumps on the bottom. It was so greasy and cheesy. She loved it.

Then they moved on to Uno. It was easy to learn. Wanda picked up the rules quickly. Despite not having any formal education since fifth grade, she was extremely bright.

This game was far more fun to her. Natasha was right, Uno was superior. The game moved quickly and it was hilarious.

"Boom!" Clint yelled as he slammed down a plus four. "That's right Cap. Take those cards."

He groaned loudly in protest. "But I only had one left!"

"Well now you have five," Natasha said evenly. Wanda laughed.

It was a long round. All of them had Uno over and over again, but kept getting hit by the plus cards. Clint and Natasha were literal spies. Of course they counted cards.

But Wanda always had a small gift of being so quiet and unnoticeable, well, before her powers. The others didn't even acknowledge her saying Uno. Then she placed down her final card. "I am out of cards."

Clint's head snapped up. "What? No."

Steve looked shocked. Wanda giggled. "No! How? Did you say Uno?"

"I did," Wanda said, a smile playing on her lips. "I guess you all did not hear, what with all the junk talk."

Natasha laughed. "So close. Trash talk."

Wanda blushed as they all had a good laugh.

Then they settled in for movies. Clint made popcorn as they all changed into pajamas. Steve wore flannel pants and a shirt sleeve shirt. Natasha had on a similar set. Her flannel pants were red checkered and she had on a soft black v neck shirt. Wanda pulled on grey sweatpants and a plain black long sleeve shirt. She smiled to herself. She was so excited.

She snuggled into Natasha's side as Clint pulled up Netflix. He put on some rom com, claiming it was for the girls, but really he loved them. They got through four. It was a lot.

Wanda was surprised to see it was past midnight as the credits rolled for The Lovebirds. "Is it really that late?"

Clint hummed in surprise as he checked his phone. "I guess it is. Time flies when you're having fun." He stood up and stretched. "I'm tired. See you all tomorrow."

Wanda slumped a little. She knew she really should go to bed, but she really didn't want the night to end. Natasha'a arm tightened around her. She knew Wanda's nightmares had been getting bad again recently.

"Well, we're gonna keep the party going in my room," Natasha said, getting up. "Night guys."

She and Wanda walked off down the hall together.  
"Brush your teeth and meet in my room?" Natasha asked. Wanda nodded.

She was at Natasha's door ten minutes later. Her lights were out. Natasha smiled up at her and patted the space next to her on the bed. Wanda happily sat down.

Natasha pulled up another rom com. They were all rather cheesy and blended together, so it really didn't matter which one she chose. "Did you have fun tonight?" Natasha asked.

Wanda smiled. She really had. Games and pizza and movies? What else could she ask for? "I really did Tasha. Thank you."

Natasha smiled and leaned into her. "I had fun too. But you made it way better. Days with Clint and Steve end up being exhausting. It's like I'm their mediator." Wanda laughed.

"Why do we not do this more often?" Wanda asked as the characters talked on the screen. "Since we all enjoy it?"

Natasha tilted her head to the side. "That's a good question. I guess for the same reason people don't hang out with their friends more. We make excuses and dread having to do things, even if we know it's going to be fun." She squeezed Wanda's shoulders, making her smile. "But you have a point. We should do this more often."

"I like that idea a lot," she said quietly.

"Oh, and you should see when Tony's here! He's even worse than those two. He's such a sore loser and he can cheat at everything."

"But you cheated at everything," Wanda said, eyebrows furrowed. Natasha's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Sorry," Wanda said quickly. "I mean, you were the one who shuffled the deck and you kept taking cards from odd places, and in battleship you did that thing with the ships."

Natasha smiled. "Smart girl. Steve hasn't even caught on to me yet. Thanks for not saying anything." Wanda nodded. She would never. "I'll teach you. Anyway, Tony tries, and I succeed. He's painfully obvious. In Monopoly, he just sneaks the money. It's hard to watch. And Bruce?"

Wanda enjoyed hearing about what game night with all the Avengers was like. Their strategies all seemed to match their personalities perfectly. She couldn't wait until they could do it again. Natasha had even said they could be partners for a bunch of them. For once in her life, she was really looking forwards to the future.


	32. Breaking Out

Steve had contacted Natasha about his plan to break out their teammates about three weeks after they were imprisoned. They used encoded messages and decided to meet up in person. They figured it would be safer to talk that way. Soon enough, both of them were on flights to Morocco.

They met at a small, slow cafe in a rural town. Steve couldn't help but smile when he saw her. He had missed her.

She slid into the booth across from him stealthily. "Hey."

"Hi. Love the hair."

She smiled. "This is my worst look yet and we both know it." They chuckled quietly.

"You couldn't look bad if you tried, Nat." She blushed.

"Now how are we getting them out?"

Steve's plan was lacking in many ways. Natasha could tell he was desprate and worried. She helped him smooth over a lot of the details. She was also glad to hear that Wakanda was offering a plane on the down low to get them there and back to the palace, where they were all free to stay.

"Get in. Get out. We'll send Clint to keep an eye on security if he's not hurt. He's good under pressure," Natasha said. She was glad Steve had called her for more reason than one. He knew he made the right choice. She had a lot of points he hadn't thought about.

"We leave tonight," Steve said. "We can't wait much longer. I'm worried about what they're doing to them."

Natasha sighed. She knew the guys were probably fine, but she was incredibly worried about Wanda. "Me too."

They took off under the cover of darkness. They vaguely recognized the woman flying them as a member of T'Challa's Dora Milaje. She picked them up on the outskirts of town and took off within the minute. She didn't waste any time.

They landed at the Raft around two am. They doubted their teammates were sleeping. Natasha and Steve gave the woman a nod before hopping off.

"Fifteen minutes," she said curtly. "Try to be back before." They nodded and sprinted in.

They didn't bother trying to be stealthy. They knew they could be seen coming from miles away. They worked their way through the guards the old fashioned way. Finally they reached the security room.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as he checked the feeds. "I see the guys. They look okay. Cell block C." He frowned. "But I don't see Wanda."

He and Natasha frantically searched the screens. Natasha froze. "Steve."

He looked over at the screen. Wanda's eyes were bloodshot, staring off into space. She looked emotionless. Her back was against the wall as she sat on the ground, arms wrapped in a straitjacket and a metal collar with a red dot blinking on it around her neck.

"I've got her," Natasha practically growled. "Get the guys."

Steve made his way to cell block C and had little problem getting the guys out. They seemed relieved and happy to see him, but Clint was panicked. "Where is she? Did you find Wanda? We could hear her screaming."

Steve frowned. Screaming about what? He wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Nat's going to get her."

"The Black Widow is here? Wasn't she against us?" Scott asked.

Steve sighed. "Sort of. She was on the side of logic, but she would do anything for this team."

They hurried down the hall, taking out guards on the way. They all had pent up anger and energy. Steve stuck his head into the wing where Wanda was. He headed over to the cell with the open door. "Nat, we've gotta go."

Natasha was kneeling in front of Wanda. She had taken off the straitjacket and was gently tapping the pads of her fingers against Wanda's cheek. Steve panicked when he saw Natasha panic. She never panicked. Wanda was still staring straight ahead, blank faced.

"She's unresponsive Steve. I don't know what to do. Get this thing off her neck." He easily tore it off and kneeled down next to Natasha.

"Come on Wanda, we're getting you out of here," Steve said gently, trying to make eye contact. She didn't make any move to show that she had even heard him. "Wanda kid, we need you to get up. We need to go." She didn't move a muscle. He looked at Natasha.

"We need to go. The woman said fifteen minutes. It's been ten," Steve said to her. Natasha sighed and tapped a little harder on Wanda's cheeks. She carded her fingers through Wanda's hair. Nothing.

"I'll pick her up," Steve said. "Better to worry about her on the jet where she's safe and we're all safe." Natasha nodded her approval and sighed, staring at Wanda. She had never seen her like this before.

Steve swept her up in his arms. She didn't react. His lips tightened into a line as he headed back into the hallway.

"Is she okay?" Clint asked. The three all looked concerned. He gave Natasha a nod of acknowledgment.

"Completely unresponsive," Steve answered. "But we need to leave." Him and Natasha led the way up to the roof. The six of them made it up the hangar. It quickly closed behind them.

"Right on time," the woman called from the front. Sam shot Steve a questioning look.

"Dora Milaje. King T'Challa has offered us a place to stay while things settle down." They all nodded slowly. Then their eyes shifted to Wanda.

Steve lowered her gently onto a seat against the wall. Her body lulled back into it. Her face didn't change.

"What's wrong with her?" Scott asked quietly. Natasha shook her head slowly. If only any of them knew.

"Go," she told them. "I'll stay with her here. Let you know if there's any change." She gave them all a serious nod as they headed off further into the jet.

Natasha sighed and stood in front of Wanda, gently kneading her shoulders. After a few minutes, Natasha came to the conclusion she must have been at least a little bit drugged. She gently pulled up Wanda's sleeves and found puncture marks at the crook of her elbows. There were so many.

Natasha sighed and slid into the seat next to her. She wrapped an arm around Wanda and pulled her into her side. She rubbed small patterns on Wanda's bicep with her fingers for a few minutes. She guessed all the touch in the world wouldn't snap Wanda out of whatever drug induced trance she was in.

It was two hours later when Natasha heard a sound out of Wanda. It started just as a small whine. She felt Wanda tense up. Natasha immediately got to her feet and leaned in front of Wanda. She could see her blinking rapidly, confusion prominent in her eyes. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. She brought her fingers back up to Wanda's cheek and tapped away.

"Wanda, sweetie, can you hear me?" Wanda blinked at her, confused. Her mouth opened and closed. Natasha could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't imagine what was going on inside Wanda's head.

"That's okay. You don't have to respond. You're okay. We're safe. You're out of there and you're never going back. Okay sweetie? You're alright. Just breathe."

Wanda took in a gasping, shuttering breath and lifted a hand gingerly to her neck. "It's gone," Natasha said quietly. She could see blackened skin from burns where the collar had been. "We can fix that. Does it hurt? What hurts?"

Wanda opened her mouth again, but then closed it. This time, a tear spilled out of her eye. She was starting to tremble. Natasha leaned in and carefully pulled Wanda into her chest. She let out a shaky breath, her eyes going to the ceiling. She didn't want to lose it and panic Wanda even more. "That's okay. Try to relax sweetie. Breathe. You're okay."

Wanda didn't wrap her arms around Natasha, but she did lean her forehead against her chest. Natasha heard her sniffle before she started quietly sobbing. Natasha held her close and rubbed her back, making big circles that she hoped would be soothing. She didn't try to shush Wanda or calm her down. She was honestly too relieved that Wanda was responsive again.

After a while, Wanda's sobs slowed to tears streaming down her cheeks. Natasha didn't let go. She didn't want to let go of Wanda ever again.

"Tasha?"

Natasha pulled back but kept her hands on Wanda's arms, rubbing up and down slowly, gently. She looked Wanda in the eye, green seeing green. "We're on a jet to Wakanda. The king has offered us a safe place to stay. We're all going together. You, me, Steve, and the others from the Raft." She reached out and wiped away a tear that rolled down Wanda's cheek with her thumb. She didn't know the right way to comfort her.

Wanda let out a shaky breath, nodding. She blinked heavily. "The others would really like to see you. They're worried. It's going to be a long flight. How about you sleep on the way there?" Wanda quickly shook her head. Alarm bells went off in Natasha's head. She wouldn't talk and she was scared to sleep. What happened?

"That's okay. Whatever you want. I just want to help you." Wanda nodded and looked down.

"I'm just going to go talk to Steve and the others real quick, then grab you a blanket. I think you're in shock." She saw Wanda's eyes well with tears again. Then she tightened her jaw and tried to breathe.

"I'll be right back, I promise. You're okay. You'll be okay, alright? I won't even leave the room." Natasha got up and leaned around the corner, making sure she stayed in Wanda's line of sight. She didn't want to leave her side just as much as Wanda didn't seem to want her to.

Steve quickly got up to go meet with her. The others gathered around.

"She's more with it. They drugged her pretty heavily." She kept her voice low so Wanda wouldn't hear. "But she's scared to talk and scared to sleep. She seems scared to move. What the hell happened in there guys?"

They honestly didn't know much. "They shocked her for everything," Clint said. "And sometimes we saw them drag her off down the hall. We have no idea what happened." He trailed off, eyes going to the floor, jaw clicking angrily.

"Can we come see her? Sounds like she could use a hug," Steve asked. Natasha gave him a sorry look.

"I don't think so, Steve. She's really nervous and I told her I would be right back. We can all talk more when we get to Wakanda." They all nodded and headed back their separate ways. Natasha looked at Wanda, who was staring off into space again. She bit back a sigh. She felt so useless.

She grabbed a shock blanket from a shelf and walked back over to Wanda. She squatted back down in front of her, waiting for Wanda to meet her eyes. When she didn't, Natasha gently tapped on her cheek.

Wanda inhaled sharply and looked at Natasha, startled. She blew out a breath. Natasha gave her a small smile and held up the blanket. "I'm going to wrap this around you. It should help a little. Why don't you lie down? We can sit on the floor. I know the seats aren't terribly comfy." Natasha really just wanted her to be able to stretch out. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection.

Wanda nodded and shifted herself to the floor. Natasha slowly wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. Wanda grabbed the corners and pulled it tighter around herself. Natasha put her back against the wall and patted her thigh. Wanda hesitantly lay down her head. Instinctively, Natasha's hand started carding through Wanda's hair. Old habits die hard.

She could hear Wanda sniffling quietly. She had curled herself up into a ball on her side, head still on Natasha's thigh. Every few minutes, Wanda would reach up to wipe away a tear. After awhile, she gave up trying to wipe them away.

Natasha thought about her options. She didn't know how helpful talking was going to be. She couldn't tell Wanda everything was okay or that it was going to be okay. It wasn't and it probably wouldn't be. She composed a small speech in her head, still carefully running her fingers through Wanda's long brown hair.

"Wanda, I have no idea what you have been through," she began quietly, her fingers not changing course. "I know you're overwhelmed and scared and confused and I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry sweetie. I wish I could do more. I'm right here if you need absolutely anything. I'll be here until you tell me not to be, okay?" As an afterthought, "I'm really worried about you Wanda."

Wanda sniffled quietly. "Sorry."

Natasha shook her head. She hadn't expected a response. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault. You haven't deserved a single thing that was done to you. None of it, okay? You deserve the world and I'm so sorry we haven't been able to give it to you. We'll be here to take care of you while you recover. You've been through a lot, Wanda. Let us help, please." She thought about saying to trust her, but she didn't know if Wanda did. She didn't think there was a single person on the planet left that Wanda trusted. "You can go to sleep. It's safe here. I'll be here the whole time. I'll do my best to keep away the bad dreams, okay?"

Wanda sniffed and nodded. Natasha doubted she would actually try to get any sleep, but she was clearly exhausted.

"I love you so much Wanda. I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. Let me help now. Please let me show you that you can trust me again."

Wanda didn't respond and Natasha felt her stomach lurch. Wanda was going through enough. Not having anyone around that she trusted was going to make it so much harder.

"Okay." It was a start, an answer. More than Natasha had expected, really. She knew Wanda didn't trust easily, nor was she quick to forgive. But Natasha had basically become her adoptive mother ever since Sokovia. As hurt as she was, she really wanted to trust Natasha again. Natasha quietly continued to card her fingers through Wanda's hair, gently pulling apart knots, until Wanda finally drifted off. Natasha felt her breathing even out and the sniffling stopped. There was no doubt in her mind that Wanda needed the rest.

She was going to do absolutely everything she could to show Wanda that she could be trusted again. She meant it when she said she would be there. She would stay with her on the good days and bad days to come, through all the upcoming panic attacks and sleepless nights. She knew they didn't have an easy road ahead, but neither of them had ever known the easy road. Natasha just hoped she could help make Wanda's a little less rocky.


	33. Trafficking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: in the title

They hadn't seen or heard from Wanda for over a week. She had just been going out to the store to grab some groceries for them, celebrating finally getting her driver's license. Then she hadn't come back.

They had spent ten whole days combing over footage of the plain white, plateless van that had taken her. Two people in hazmat suits had thrown her in the back after shooting her with some sort of tranquilizer. So far, that was all they had. No leads, no names, not any clue what was happening. The team was beyond frustrated and worried. Why were they having such a hard time finding clues?

Natasha worried endlessly over her. She knew she should have gone with Wanda. She knew she was really an adult, but she still worried over her like a daughter. In reality, it was no one's fault but the kidnappers. But Natasha of course blamed herself for leaving Wanda alone. She hadn't been prepared to defend herself. She had been having such a nice and relaxing day. They all had been. None of them had seen this coming.

There was no new activity with Hydra, no new leads with aliens. They checked with Strange and the sorcerers. No new threats that they were aware of. Not one single lead to follow. The frustration was becoming palpable amongst them.

None of them had really slept. Tony had every tracker on SHIELD had. They couldn't even track her magic. There was no sign of her having used it. No suspicious activity or new reports of crime. Clint and Natasha had gone to the store, asked around. Nothing. They had been in a lot of situations before. Kidnappings, break ins, all kinds. But this was new. Usually they had something.

Facial recognition couldn't find her anywhere. Tony even hacked into every ALEXA in New York to track for her voice. They were losing hope fast. Then Tony's magic tracker started blinking. Just as quickly as it turned on, it shut off.

Tony swore and started typing furiously. "Anyone see where the dot was?"

"You can't track it and rewind?" Steve asked.

"I need a signal for longer than a second to track. I can't go back."

Clint sighed loudly and lowered his head into his hands. "But it was her?"

Tony nodded. "Definitely."

Natasha stood up. "Well we have a general idea, twenty mile radius to cover. We saw where the dot was, somewhat. Let's go. Split up."

"Nat, that's a lot of ground to cover," Bruce said cautiously. "We realistically can't do that."

She turned to him quickly, glaring. "You got a better idea?"

Bruce exchanged a look with Clint. He wasn't going to win this argument. He sighed in defeat. "I guess not. Tony and I can stay here and see if anything pops up again."

"Fine." She stuffed her hands in her pockets and headed off towards the door. "Who's coming?"

Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Sam decided to head out. Since Wanda's magic had only been used for a second, they hoped there wasn't a huge threat. They took four separate vehicles to cover ground more quickly.

Natasha headed for the Bronx. Maybe for once, they weren't dealing with some super powered alien being. There was plenty of crime in the Bronx. It seemed like a good place to start. They all took a suburb and split after checking all their phones were working.

A few cop cars went by. Natasha didn't think anything of it. Their lights weren't even on.

Natasha kept walking for a few hours. Every time her phone buzzed, she whipped it out of her pocket. The others weren't having any luck either. Steve and Sam had moved into new neighborhoods. Bruce and Tony still didn't have any hits.

Natasha sighed as she turned down another street. There was no point in running. She had nowhere to run to.

"Natasha." She spun around. Wanda was standing on the corner, walking towards her. She looked a little dirty and a lot tired. Natasha let out a huge sigh of relief and met her in the middle with large strides. She pulled Wanda tightly into her arms, holding her close.

"Wanda. You're here." She felt Wanda nod into her shoulder. They stayed in the middle of the street, embracing for a few minutes. Then Natasha pulled back.

She brought up a hand to cup Wanda's cheek. She looked her over for any obvious injuries. She seemed a little pale and a little cold.

"I think I'm okay." Natasha looked at her. She had so many questions to ask, but didn't want to overwhelm her.

"No major injuries?" Wanda stared at her blankly, shaking her head slowly. She was obviously in shock.

"I don't think so." She looked down at herself, gingerly bending her arms and knees. "I, uh, I think I'm fine."

"Okay." Natasha breathed. Wanda followed. "Okay. Good." Natasha looked around. There was nobody. "You ready to get back to the compound?"

Wanda nodded, face still blank. Natasha took Wanda's hand in her own, leading her slowly towards the car she had parked a few streets away. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text so the others could call off the search.

She opened the passenger door for Wanda and had to prompt her to get in. She was in a heavy haze. "Did they drug you?" Wanda shook her head slowly. So it really was just shock. This was bad.

Natasha climbed into the driver's seat and just sat there for a minute, after locking the doors. She turned to observe Wanda. She was staring at the dashboard listlessly.

"You don't seem okay." It was a statement, not a question. "You're in shock. Do you know anything about what happened?"

She reached over and gently squeezed Wanda's hand. Wanda blinked and looked at her. "Sorry, what was that?"

"What happened?" Wanda blinked at her again. "Can you tell me anything about what happened or where you've been?"

Wanda gulped and nodded slowly, still looking at Natasha. She squeezed her hand back. "Uh, I think it is called human trafficking here. I, uh, I think I might have killed them." A deep silence fell over the car.

Natasha gently ran her thumb over the back of Wanda's hand. So there had been no Hydra, no aliens, no mutants for once. Just far too normal crime.

"Were there others?"

Wanda nodded again, her eyes drifting back to the dashboard. She was shaking. Natasha wished she had a blanket for her. "They, I, uh, I-"

Natasha squeezed her hand. "Deep breath. You're okay."

Wanda nodded and took a deep breath in, before letting it out shakily. "I uh, didn't know how to fight back without using my powers. I know I'm supposed to know. I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to disclose my powers."

"That's fine," Natasha soothed. "That's okay. It can be harder to act when there are others around. I'm not mad. You're okay. Breathe."

Wanda breathed again. She needed the reminders. Her hand tightened around Natasha's. "I, uh, they were going to make a trade. I didn't want that to happen to her. I used my powers to slam them into the wall. I undid the ropes and told them to call for help. They said they wouldn't tell them about me."

Natasha had no idea who 'her' was, but she knew Wanda's heart was huge. She could protect anyone in trouble if she could help it. "The other women said they wouldn't tell the police about you?" Natasha asked for clarification. Wanda nodded.

"Okay." Natasha took back her hand and started the car. "All that matters is you're here. You didn't do anything wrong. You got yourself and all of them out. The squad cars were driving around earlier."

"Good," Wanda said quietly. "I hope they are alright."

Natasha looked over at her before turning back to the road. "They will be, because of you. You did it. You get to relax now." Wanda nodded and looked out the window. The ride back to the compound was silent.

Natasha pulled into the garage and shut off the engine. She looked over at Wanda. She didn't move.

Natasha got out of the car and went around to her side. She opened Wanda's door and unbuckled her. Wanda blinked up at her.

"Come on," Natasha soothed. She offered Wanda a hand. "Let's go up. Everyone's relieved. They all probably wanna give you a hug." Wanda took her hand and let herself be led to the elevator and into the common room.

When they walked in, the whole team was gathered around the tv with the news on. They looked up when the pair walked in.

They all took their turns hugging her and asking questions. Wanda didn't answer any of them. She gave them shallow smiles. Her eyes shifted to the tv.

"Oh, yeah," Sam said. "There was some human trafficking break over in the Bronx."

The room fell into silence as they watched the woman on the screen talk about how they got out.

"There was another one of us. She was really brave. We don't know how she did it. She somehow took both of them out and told us to call for help, then she left." The woman turned to the camera. "If you're out there, thank you. You saved all of us."

"Hey, weren't you two in the Bronx?" Steve asked. All eyes turned to Wanda and Natasha. Wanda crossed her arms and shifted closer to Natasha unconsciously. Natasha put her hands on Wanda's shoulders comfortingly. The room fell into silence.

"You're in shock. I'll grab a blanket," Bruce commented. He headed off to find one.

Clint looked at the girls, then at the tv, then back at them. His face fell. "Was it you?"

Wanda's head snapped up at him. Natasha's hands tightened.

"It was you," Steve said. "Oh Wanda."

"I'm fine," she said quickly. She swallowed thickly and looked around. They all watched as the two men in charge were pushed into the back seat of a cruiser. So she hadn't killed them. "I'm fine." It seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than them.

"It was a witch!" One of the men called indignantly as he was pushed into the car. "She controlled us using magic!" They could see the cops rolling their eyes.

Bruce returned and handed the blanket to Natasha, who wrapped it snugly around Wanda's shoulders.

"When you're up for it, you should call the police," Tony commented. "They're going to want all the information they can get."

Wanda pulled the blanket tighter around herself, eyes glued to the tv. "Do I have to? There were eight others there."

"You don't have to," Natasha assured her quickly, glaring at Tony to shut him up.

"Do they know who you are?" Sam asked.

Wanda gulped. They were going to be so angry. "I didn't mean to. I didn't see another way out. I couldn't just sit there. I had to do something."

Steve smiled weakly at her. "We're glad you did. Do you think they'll tell anyone it was you?" She shook her head.

"Then we have nothing to worry about," Clint said. "You didn't do anything wrong, Wanda. No one's mad." He paused, tilting his head at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded unconvincingly, her face still blank and emotionless. Definitely still in shock.

"You hungry? It's almost dinnertime," Clint said. "We can order pizza or something. Whatever you want kid."

She looked up at him slowly. "I'm, uh, not really hungry."

"When's the last time you had a full meal?" Steve asked her gently. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She couldn't remember.

"Why don't you clean up first?" Natasha suggested, massaging her shoulders. "We can figure it out after."

Wanda nodded and let Natasha lead her down the hallway. Wanda didn't even notice the others exchanging concerned looks.

Natasha held tight to her hand as she opened the door to Wanda's room. She looked around. It was exactly the same as she had left it. She shuddered.

Natasha closed the door behind them. Then she took Wanda's other hand. "How about we watch something first?" She wanted Wanda to calm down a bit before she left her on her own. Wanda nodded numbly.

Natasha led her over to the bed and flicked on the tv. She pulled Wanda into her side and wrapped the blanket from the end of her bed around them. Two blankets were around Wanda. Natasha hoped the weight would help ground her.

It was some home renovation show. They watched a couple retile a bathroom and add new cabinets and backsplash to a kitchen. It was monotonous and slow, just what they needed.

As another commercial rolled across the screen, Natasha looked down at Wanda. She ran her fingers through her slightly grainy hair. Wanda tilted her head against Natasha's chest and looked up at her.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Wanda nodded. "Sorry. I'm, uh, as Bruce said, a little shocked."

Natasha smiled wanly at her. "As to be expected. That's alright. Do you think a warm shower might help?" She could see the hesitation cross Wanda's face. "I'll be right here if you need me. We can finish watching what color granite they choose for the countertops after." Wanda tried to smile and nodded.

Natasha started getting worried after twenty minutes. She could hear Wanda crying softly in the shower over the sound of the water. Natasha got up and knocked on the door. "Wanda? Can I come in?"

She heard Wanda softly call out a yes. Natasha slipped inside. She grabbed a bathrobe off the hook and slid it around the shower curtain. A minute later, the water turned off and the curtain opened. Wanda's eyes were red and she looked so small wrapped in the plush robe.

"I know I'm okay," Wanda got out, voice hoarse. "I'm fine. Physically, barely anything even happened to me." Natasha's heart broke a little. "I'm fine." Her voice broke. "So why don't I feel fine?"

Natasha pulled Wanda into her chest again, rubbing her back. "You were kidnapped and kept in a basement for nine days, Wanda. You're not supposed to be fine. I'd be more worried if you were."

Wanda sniffed a wiped away a few stray tears. She clung to Natasha, who combed her fingers through Wanda's wet hair. "Come on. I'll braid your hair and you can get dressed. I'm sure the others have figured out dinner by now."

Natasha patted a spot on the mattress for her to sit down. She clicked play on the tv so they could finishing watching the show. She kneeled on the bed behind Wanda and pulled her hair back into a neat French braid. Wanda loved the feeling of Natasha braiding her hair. Between the braiding and the show, Wanda's tears finally slowed to a stop.

Natasha tied off her hair as the credits rolled for the show. She walked around the bed to stand in front of Wanda. "Let's go eat." She knew Wanda was skeptical. "You don't have to eat a lot, just something. For me?"

Wanda nodded. She couldn't say no to Natasha.

Wanda got up and hugged Natasha tightly. She was surprised at first, but hugged her back warmly. "Thank you Tasha."

Natasha smiled. "I'll always be here for you Wanda. And I didn't do anything. It was all you."

After they finally released, they headed towards the kitchen. They walked in to find takeout boxes everywhere. Indian food. Wanda hated Indian food.

Natasha crossed her arms and glared at them. "You morons chose the one thing she doesn't like?"

"Oh!" Clint shot up and almost tripped. Wanda bit her lip to keep from laughing. "No, we made something else for Wanda." He picked up an entire pot of Velveeta Mac n cheese from the stove and set it on a potholder on the table. "We got other food because we didn't want to eat it all on her."

Natasha uncrossed her arms. Wanda smiled a bit. That was sweet of them. She filled a small bowl for herself and slid into a seat at the table. Natasha sat down next to her. Wanda chewed peacefully at her artificial cheesy dinner as she listened to the other's banter. She had missed this.

"We're glad you're home Wands," Natasha said softly in her ear. She was smiling.

Wanda looked up at her and smiled back. She put her head on Natasha's shoulder and shoveled another spoonful of Mac n cheese into her mouth. "I'm glad to be here." Natasha pressed a kiss to her temple before they both sat back, enjoying being together again and eating ridiculously unhealthy food with their teammates.


	34. Memory Loss

Wanda had suffered through many concussions while with the Avengers. She gave them to herself with her powers sometimes, and was sure she had gotten at least a few from training with Natasha and getting thrown to the floor repeatedly. She knew she had gotten at least one when she was little after a bad beating when her and Pietro tried to take some food from a grocery store. Dr. Cho had told her that she would end up with brain damage if she had any more, if she didn't have any already.

But Wanda couldn't help getting thrown everywhere. A standard, albeit tough, mission taking down a Hydra base was just another case. She had lost count of how many times she had felt her head bounce off of concrete within the past hour. She could feel a terrible headache starting to form. Natasha had made her promise to update them on any injuries she had. She insisted that's what they all did. Wanda wasn't convinced until she heard Steve report a bullet wound mid battle.

"Hello," Wanda began. She winced at her own words. "My head is hurt. I think I have other concuss."

Wanda had trouble focusing on everyone's responses. They all seemed to come at once, so instead, she plowed on with the mission. Using her powers was only making her head feel worse. She was so close to having the top floor cleared when she felt herself go flying into another wall, and everything went black.

"Anyone have eyes on Wanda?" Steve asked in the coms. "We didn't get a response from her."

"Not outside," Tony replied. "I think she was trying to clear the top floors."

"We got her," Natasha said, giving Clint a nod from across the room. They made their way rapidly up the stairwell. They were happily surprised to find the second and third floors completely clear. There were a few stragglers on the fourth, lying half consciously on the ground. They guessed Wanda had knocked them back with her magic when she fell unconscious. They saw her form slumped on the floor and rushed over.

"Top three floors are clear," Natasha reported as Clint kneeled down next to Wanda, gently trying to wake her up. "Little witch managed to get them out herself. Clear the first and get out." There was a chorus of confirmations from the team.

"Hey kiddo," Natasha heard Clint say. She turned around and got down on her knees on Wanda's other side. She smiled down at her.

Wanda stared up at them, confused. She moaned a little and tried to move away.

"You hit your head pretty hard kid. Might not wanna move around too much. We can help you," Clint soothed.

Wanda propped herself up on her elbows and weakly batted away Clint's hand from her face. "I don't need help."

She continued to try to get up on her own, but she was obviously in a lot of pain. Clint and Natasha let her try to get to her feet while they looked at each other, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Wanda, how's your head feel?" Natasha asked slowly.

Wanda glared at her a bit. "Fine."

Natasha and Clint looked at each other again. Wanda had never snapped at a team member while living in New York. She would never dare to snap at Natasha.

Wanda snapped them out of their thoughts. She was flattening her back against the wall and tried to stand tall, palms filling with red energy. "Why are you staring at me? Who are you people?"

Ah, there it was. She had no idea who they were. Clint let out a breath. This was a dangerous game. How badly would she react if they said they were the Avengers?

"I'm Clint, she's Natasha. We're your," she shot a look at Natasha. He didn't know how to finish his sentence.

"Sent to help you. We know you've taken a beating form Hydra. We're here to get you out," Natasha finished, ever the improviser.

Wanda looked skeptically between them. "How do I know you aren't here to hurt me?"

That was a darn good question. They didn't have a great answer for her. They knew how many people had hurt her in the past and how deep her trust issues ran.

Natasha dug around her suit for a minute and pulled out a knife. She moved very slowly as she handed it to Wanda. "If we do anything to hurt you, feel free to kill us."

Clint's eyes widened. "Nat."

"Clint," she said evenly.

Oh well. It wasn't the worst plan they had ever had.

Wanda nodded slowly, closing her eyes, clutching the knife tightly in her fist. Her magic dissipated. "Okay."

Natasha and Clint got on either side of her and wrapped her arm around their shoulders. They moved slowly. Wanda's head was truly throbbing and bobbed from side to side. They half wished she would just go under again.

"On the jet, waiting for you guys," Tony said in the coms.

Clint responded for them. Thankfully, Natasha had thought to click off Wanda's com. "Got it. Heads up, Wanda doesn't remember any of us."

"What?" Steve and Sam yelled.

"She doesn't know any of us. Clint and I will stick with her til we get back." Natasha really hoped they would put it together to hide Stark in the jet.

Thankfully, they figured it out. When they got on the jet, Steve and Tony were in the cockpit. Sam had found somewhere else to be, probably talking to Helen and Bruce back at the compound.

Clint and Natasha lowered her onto a seat between them and sat down. Clint moved Wanda's arm gently off his shoulder so he could go talk to Tony and Steve as they got them in the air.

Wanda tensely leaned back in her seat, eyebrows furrowing together and eyes squeezing shut. Natasha had no idea what was a good idea right now. This was a Wanda she had never met before.

"Where are you taking me?" Wanda asked softly.

Natasha squeezed her shoulder gently and sighed. "To a good hospital. They'll give you some strong medicines to make your head stop hurting."

Wanda nodded, tentatively leaning into Natasha's side, whining lightly. "Where?"

"New York."

Wanda tensed up again, but quickly slouched back from the pain. "The States United?"

Natasha sighed. She forgot. "Yeah. We'll get you back as soon as you're better, okay?"

Long silence. "Okay."

Clint eventually returned to them. He gave Wanda a sad smile and sat down next to her. Natasha had managed to take Wanda's pulse and decided she was still in safe range, but she could see blood matted in the hair on the back of her head. Likely skull fracture.

"You can rest. It's gonna be awhile before we get there kiddo," Clint told Wanda.

She nodded sleepily, eyes still tightly shut from the pain. "I can try, but the pain is much."

Natasha rubbed her arm again. It was going to be a long ride. She wasn't excited for what happened when they got back to the compound.

It was as rough as she had expected. Helen and Bruce met them on the tarmac with a gurney for Wanda. She stared at it, and them, skeptically.

"These are the doctors," Clint said cautiously. Wanda's head snapped to him. She winced at the movement.

"You never said there were doctors. I will leave, thanks."

But Wanda spun around to see Tony and Steve. A familiar anger appeared in her eyes. "Tony Stark?"

Natasha rushed down the tarmac and whispered in Helen's ear.

"Yeah kid, you're looking at him. But we're friends now," Tony said. Wrong answer.

Wanda tried to turn around again, but stumbled over her own feet. They could tell she was dizzy. Clint reached out to catch her. She quickly scrambled out of his arms and slammed herself back into the wall. Her face contorted in pain.

"Wanda, let us help you. Relax," Steve told her, taking a step forward. Natasha sighed loudly. The wrong thing to say to absolutely any person.

"Why relax? Who are you people? Why I trust you?" She looked around with panicked eyes.

"Get out," Natasha said quietly. She looked at Steve, Tony Sam, and Clint.

"Nat, we're trying to help," Clint said condescendingly. He winced at his tone. Natasha's gaze darkened dramatically. He knew he shouldn't have said that. He left the jet and indicated for the others to follow. Bruce went with them inside. That left Natasha and a very panicked Wanda alone until Helen got back.

Natasha approached her slowly and calmly. "You still got that knife?" Wanda gave a single nod.

"Why didn't you use it?"

Wanda blew out a breath of pain. "I do not trust, but I have no reason to hurt."

Natasha nodded. "Rational." She turned and saw Helen coming towards them, carrying a syringe. She turned back to Wanda, whose eyes were locked on the needle. Her grip on the knife tightened.

Natasha collected the syringe from Helen and headed back to the jet. She kept her eyes on Wanda's face, gaging for a reaction.

"You do plan to hurt me," Wanda said in a low voice, backing up again.

"This is 20 kilograms of ketamine and diazepam. Do you know what those do?" Wanda shook her head.

"They're anesthetics. They'll put you to sleep until we can figure out how to make your head stop hurting."

Wanda still looked skeptical, but she did relax marginally.

"Listen Wanda, I know you don't know who anyone here is and you don't trust us, but I also know your head has to be absolutely killing you. Let me help."

Wanda swallowed thickly and met Natasha's eyes.

"I won't inject you until you give me the okay. You'll wake up feeling better." As an afterthought, "and I'll be there the whole time."

Something about the way Natasha spoke to her and trusted her with her knife eased Wanda up. Plus, her head really did hurt.

"Don't let them hurt me."

Natasha nodded seriously. "I promise."

Wanda sighed. "Okay." She gave Natasha a nod and sat down in one of the plane seats. Natasha sat down next to her and gently slid the needle into Wanda's vein and pushed on the plunger.

"You're going to get tired now. Give in." Natasha held eye contact with a very terrified Wanda until her eyes finally slipped shut and her body slumped forwards.

Natasha breathed a huge sigh of relief. Things would be a lot easier with Wanda unconscious. She carefully scooped the small girl up into her arms and carried her to the medical wing.

Within seconds of being placed down on the gurney, Wanda was swarmed by Cho and her team. Helen looked up at her urgently. "We're taking her for a CT, then MRI. If she didn't have damage before, she does now."

Natasha nodded, walking next to the gurney as they wheeled her down the hallway. "Uh, Agent Romanoff, its medical personnel only beyond this point." Natasha quirked an eyebrow at the intern who dared question her.

"Listen to me. If that girl wakes up before she's supposed to, she's going to go into full panic if I'm not there. So unless you want to end up smashed into a wall by actual magic, I suggest you let me beyond this point," she finished sarcastically. She pushed past the very sorry intern to keep up with the gurney.

By some miracle, there was no brain bleed. Of course, there was indeed brain damage. Some of it was old. Very little was new, which was better than they expected. Helen had assured Natasha memory loss was common with concussions, especially the more you had. She said that Wanda should be fine when she came around, but that she would likely be asleep longer than the anesthesia would keep her under for.

Wanda ended up sleeping off the worst of her concussion for three whole days. The whole team came by to check on her. Clint brought Natasha food and a charger. He didn't bother trying to convince her to leave. He was honestly worried about what would happen if Wanda woke up, with no memory, and Natasha wasn't there.

But she always was. She didn't leave the room. She calmly waited by Wanda's bedside, scrolling through her phone and reading books Clint grabbed from her personal library. That is, until Wanda finally woke up.

Her vitals didn't spike dramatically or anything huge. She simply inhaled deeply, and then her eyelids fluttered open. Natasha got to her feet and sat down on the edge of Wanda's mattress. She didn't yet dare to grab her hand.

Wanda hummed slightly, looking around confused, before her eyes settled on Natasha. Her body relaxed. She smiled lightly at her before running her fingers over her IV port.

"Don't pull it out," Natasha instructed quietly. Wanda nodded, still fiddling with it.

"Do you know who I am?" Wanda looked at her curiously.

"Yeah, Tasha, should I not?" Natasha relaxed and blew out a breath of relief. She picked up Wanda's hand in her own.

"You've been in a coma for the past three days, milaya. You got another really terrible concussion. This time, you lost your memory for awhile." Wanda stared at her for a minute, nodding slowly.

"Okay," she said, still nodding. She blew out a breath of her own. "Okay, that's a lot."

Natasha let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, it sure is. You've really gotta stop getting head injuries."

There was silence for a minute, then Wanda giggled. Natasha looked up at her. Before they knew it, they were both cracking up.

Natasha wiped tears away from her eyes as she caught her breath. "I didn't even ask. Does your head hurt?"

Wanda nodded, still grinning. "A little, but it is worth the pain." She scooted over to make room for Natasha.

"Do you remember anything from, well, not having any memory of us?"

Wanda shook her head, a light smile still playing on her lips. "What did I do?"

"Well," Natasha smirked. "You didn't trust any of us, obviously. It was hard telling you who we were without saying SHIELD. You almost lost it when you saw Stark. You absolutely freaked out when Helen showed up with a syringe and I had to give you one of my knives to get you to let me and Clint help get you out of the building."

Wanda's eyebrows rose. "You gave me one of your knives?"

Natasha shrugged. "You weren't gonna trust us any other way. Or, me anyway. You basically hated everyone else."

Wanda made a face. "Even Clint?"

Natasha laughed openly. "Even Clint. To your credit, you woke up surrounded by people trying to get you to go with them to somewhere you had never been."

Wanda sighed. "Sorry."

Natasha shook her head, smirking. "You can't be sorry for things you didn't even consciously do. Don't worry Wanda. No one's mad and this is gonna be a really funny story in a few weeks."

"Promise?" No matter what state she was in, Wanda was still just a kid looking for affection and stability.

Natasha smiled at her and ran a finger through her hair. "I promise."

They knew the teasing would begin the second they left her hospital room, so they savored the silence for as long as they could.


	35. Depersonalization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: suicidal thoughts, depression

Wanda had been walking around the compound like a ghost and it hadn't gone unnoticed by the team. They took turns practically dragging her out of her room to eat and watch movies with them. She barely talked and didn't smile or laugh. She would stare at the tv screen blankly for the full two hours or however long the movie was before excusing herself and wishing the others a good night.

"Do you think she's okay?" Steve added Clint and Natasha as they watched Wanda walk off down the hall. She hadn't really eaten any of her lunch.

"I have no idea," Clint said. "Teenaged girls are notoriously moody but she's clearly depressed."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "She's got a lot to be depressed about."

Yet none of them had it in them to talk to her. Clint would give her the occasional hug and remind her that he was there. Natasha had told Wanda that her door was always open, but she knew she didn't believe her. Steve tried to convince her that they were all glad she was there. Sam tried to cheer her up with humor, but she didn't even crack a smile. It was getting scary.

Natasha knocked on Wanda's doorway on the way back to her own room. "Hey kid. How are you feeling?"

Wanda continued to stare listlessly out the window and just shrugged. Natasha pursed her lips. That wasn't an answer.

"My door is open. Please use it if you feel wrong or like you need to talk. Okay?"

Wanda nodded blankly. Natasha left her alone. She didn't know what else to offer the girl. She had been in denial before. Angry at the world. Been misplaced and forced to pick up the little she had and relocate across the globe. But she had never been where Wanda was. Sure, she had been suicidal before. She was pretty sure all the Avengers had been. But never so deeply depressed like Wanda was.

The next few days went by uneventfully. The others were growing increasingly worried about Wanda and her behavior. They often found her sitting, staring blankly at a spot on the wall or floor. She just didn't smile.

"Come on kiddo, you can do better." Steve was trying to I be encouraging during training. He had tried the soft and encouraging approach. He was trying the pushing approach. Wanda just meekly nodded. She showed no emotional reaction to his words. His attempt to light a fire under her was failing miserably.

"You got this Wanda. We've seen what you can do. Show us that magic, girl," Sam encouraged. Wanda didn't really look at him when she nodded. Her eyes were glazed over.

She didn't improve throughout the rest of training. Her movements were still slow and it was clear she was preoccupied. Her mind was too messy to focus on what was right in front of her. She didn't even see Clint's arrow coming. They all stopped immediately and looked at Wanda in horror and at the arrow embedded in her shoulder. Wanda looked at it blankly.

"Oh my god kiddo, I'm so sorry," Clint said, rushing over. "I thought you'd stop it. I didn't think it would actually hit you." She continued to just stare at the arrow. "I'm so sorry. Come on, you need medical."

Wanda stared silently at the arrow before slowly ripping it out of her arm. Barely a wince crossed her face as she pulled it out. "That's alright. I'm, uh, fine." She looked around. "Can I go clean up?"

Steve and Clint exchanged bewildered looks. Steve blinked. "Uh, yeah. Of course you can. I think that's a good place to call it for today. But you'll probably need stitches."

Wanda nodded and walked back towards the building. The others stared after her.

"Alright, I'm just gonna say it," Tony piped up after they watched Wanda go through the double doors. "Something's majorly off with that girl. It's more than just those raging teenaged hormones."

"Yeah," Clint breathed. Everyone started heading towards the building, in shock. Natasha grabbed his arm.

"Hey Clint, this isn't your fault. She should have had that easily."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah Nat, but she didn't. I just shot her with a freaking arrow and she just pulled it out and walked away." He looked at her. "You need to talk to her. I don't think she's going to talk to anyone else."

"I could say the same about you," Natasha said evenly as they headed back inside. "Why me?"

Clint shook his head. "You two are more similar than you think. She looks up to you, whether you like it or not."

Natasha did like it, but she wasn't about to tell Clint that.

Natasha changed and showered before heading into Wanda's room. She knocked quietly. She waited a minute before knocking again. The door flew open a few seconds later, red magic dissipating. "Sorry," Wanda apologized. She was sitting on her bed, legs hanging over the side. She was facing the window that overlooked the vast forest. She had one hand on her shoulder, holding a clump of bloody tissues to it.

Natasha silently dug through Wanda's bathroom for the first aid kit. It was easy to find, with how sparse her bathroom was. Her room was too. There was very little adorning it. Natasha had taken Wanda shopping for sheets and pillows and anything else she might have wanted to decorate her room, but she hadn't gotten much. There was nothing on her dresser, save a globe with some pins in it for places she had been. It was helping her learn geography. On her side table, she had a simple digital alarm clock. There was no personality to the room.

Natasha sat down next to Wanda on her bed. "Can I take a look at your shoulder?"

Wanda nodded lamely and slowly pulled away the tissues, blood clots sticking to them. Natasha quickly grabbed a trash can for them.

Natasha worked in silence evaluating the wound. Wanda continued to stare out the window. Natasha poked and prodded the red and angry skin. Thankfully, the arrow hadn't gone too far in, but she still wanted to throw in a few stitches, just to be safe. That is, once she could get it to stop bleeding.

"I'm gonna stitch this shut," Natasha announced. She looked at Wanda for a reaction. She got another emotionless nod.

Natasha huffed. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to compose herself. It didn't work. "What's wrong with you?"

Wanda finally turned to look at her.

"You've been moping around here for the last few weeks. You don't smile, you don't eat, you don't even seem aware of your surroundings," Natasha said, exasperated. She tried to soften the edge to her voice. "We're all really worried about you, Wanda. What's going on?"

Wanda just blinked at her, surprised. She opened her mouth, then closed it before turning to look back out the window. Natasha felt her heart sink. She had been so close to getting somewhere with her.

She went ahead and cleaned off Wanda's arm. She was about halfway through her row of stitches when Wanda spoke up.

"I feel nothing."

Natasha paused and looked up at her. Wanda turned to look at her very slowly. "I don't feel anything any more. Not happy, not sad. Barely even the pain." Natasha saw her bottom lip tremble, before she pulled it between her teeth. "I haven't felt anything in weeks, and it's really scaring me, Tasha."

Natasha was shocked. That was more than Wanda had said over the course of the last month and a half. But she tried to hide her surprise. She nodded slowly. "Okay. Thanks for trusting me. We can keep talking after I finish the stitches, alright?"

Wanda nodded and went back to staring out the window. A single tear ran down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away.

Natasha felt terrible. She had gotten used to the numb feeling and had even found comfort in it, because that's how she had been raised. But she couldn't imagine how terrifying it was to be completely numb and not know why.

Natasha put some vaseline and gauze over the neat line of stitches before wrapping her arm. She gently taped the end of the gauze in place. "Do you want something for the pain?" Wanda shook her head.

Natasha breathed deeply and nodded. She cleaned up the supplies before settling back down next to Wanda. She carefully picked up Wanda's hands in her own and went about massaging the backs as she thought about what to say.

"I'm really proud of you," Natasha began. "It's not easy to tell other people what's going on in your head." That wasn't what Wanda had been expecting her to say. It showed. Natasha continued, squeezing her hands a little bit tighter. "I'm so, so sorry we haven't noticed more. It's terrifying to not feel anything at all. I've been there. It's scary," Natasha assured her, looking Wanda in the eye. "But I'm here to help you through it. You know everyone is. There's medicines for this. Numbness is actually a pretty common symptom of depression. We can help it go away, at least a little bit." Natasha stared at Wanda, waiting for any kind of reaction.

"Sometimes this feels better," Wanda said softly. "I used to wish I could not feel anything. Why do I hate it so much now?" Another year rolled down her cheek.

Natasha pulled Wanda carefully into her chest, avoiding her shoulder. She didn't sob or cry. She couldn't.

"Because emotions remind us we're still alive. Feeling nothing? It makes you feel dead." She cupped Wanda's cheek gently with one hand. "Can make you wish you were dead because you don't feel anything telling you otherwise."

Wanda sighed and closed her eyes, leaning into Natasha's chest again. She was exhausted. Natasha had really hit the nail on the head. She rubbed slow circles on Wanda's back. "We're gonna take care of you Wanda. Do you think you can just hang in there?" She felt Wanda nod after a very long moment. She would do her best. Natasha couldn't ask for anything more.

Natasha gave her the next week off from training. She still made sure Wanda left her room often and made sure she had at least something to eat at every meal. Clint hugged her more often and Sam stopped trying so hard to be funny and was just very kind. Steve always took a few minutes a day to really check in with her.

Natasha was always there. She dragged Wanda out with her to the grocery store and to the mall and to a little coffee shop that she really liked. She made sure Wanda was alone as little as possible. She also went with Wanda to talk to Dr. Cho.

They got her on some strong medicines, which made Wanda worse before she got better. They were all there for her. They never spent enough time focusing on their health. It seemed to just be part of being an Avenger. But they refused to let Wanda down and watch her spiral down a dark path at such a young age. Especially Natasha.

She refused to sit back and watch Wanda face the world alone. She wouldn't let her suffer silently or alone. She knew how painful that was.

Throughout everything, the pair grew closer. They watched movies together more often and went places together, even if it was just on walks in the sunshine. She went against her instincts and tried to be warmer with Wanda. The girl didn't need someone simply monitoring her. It had been such a long time since Wanda had had someone willing to take care of her.

They both began to look forwards to girls night every Friday in Natasha's room. Natasha was digging through the cabinets for popcorn and spoons for their ice cream. She had convinced Wanda to try chocolate chip cookie dough tonight and she couldn't wait to see her reaction.

She returned to her room to find Wanda sprawled out on her bed, scrolling through Netflix. She looked up and smiled at Natasha as she walked in. "Hey."

Natasha smiled right back. "Hey." She handed Wanda her pint. "Get ready to have your mind blown milaya." She grinned as she watched Wanda's face light up with her first spoonful.

"Good, yeah?" Wanda nodded emphatically. Natasha laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders. Wanda leaned into her side and sighed contentedly. She tilted her head up towards Natasha. "Thanks Tasha."

"No problem. We've gotta get ice cream more often," she responded.

"Not just for the ice cream." Natasha's face softened. "For everything. I appreciate it. I don't know why any of you decided I was worth it, but," she paused, her smile dimming a little. "I am so grateful. I love you Tasha."

Natasha smiled warmly down at her as she felt heat spreading through her chest. "I love you too Wanda. And you are worth it. You're always worth it. Don't let yourself be convinced otherwise." Natasha pressed a firm kiss to her temple. "And if you ever feel that again, come find me and I'll convince you. You'll never have to be without me. You're stuck with me kiddo." The movie and snacks were nice, but the relationship that blossomed from such an awful situation was even better. They had both gained a new friend and family member and they decided they would never, ever lose each other, no matter what.


	36. New Kid

When they got back to New York after the battle of Sokovia, the shock and adrenaline started to wear off. Clint walked Wanda to her room after working to keep her from from Pietro. She had tears running down her face, making streaks in the dirt and dust. He left her in the room with instructions to not leave until someone came and talked to her. Wanda did as she was told. She was too scared and too unoriented not to.

Clint rejoined the team in the conference room. Everyone looked exhausted. Steve looked up when he walked in. "How is she?"

Clint shook his head. "Scared. Confused. Angry." It made sense. Of course she was.

"So what happens now?" Natasha asked. Always the logical thinker.

"Well, she's with us now," Steve confirmed.

Clint nodded his agreement. "She's an Avenger. She can train like one here. Stay with the new trainees."

"You think that's a good idea?" Tony asked. "All that power in a teenaged girl? She's a danger, not an asset."

"Which is exactly why she needs to stay here," Steve argued. "Think about everything that she could do if she was on our side."

"Or do to us. She can't be trusted."

"No one can really be trusted, Stark. We don't have to trust her to keep her here," Natasha piped in. "Let's be honest. Half the people in this room don't trust the other." She looked around the room, daring someone to question her. She was met with heavy silence. It stretched on for a few minutes.

"So we agree she's staying," Clint said. "She has to. I mean, we're part of the reason she doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Steve sighed and nodded in agreement. They had quite the problem on their hands. "I know you need to go home to your family. Tony, I know you planned to go back upstate. Thor obviously has to go back to Asgard." He looked to Natasha. "I think me and Nat were planning to stay here and train the newbies." She nodded her agreement.

"So someone needs to take her on as a responsibility. Someone's who's going to stay here." Steve stared at her. She stared right back.

"Great. You can train her. You two have a lot in common," Natasha bit out, looking at him.

Steve exchanged a look with Clint, who tentatively spoke up. "Nat, I think you and Wanda might have even more in common."

Natasha turned on Clint, arms crossed. "You really think I should be the one to train her? She doesn't exactly like me and I don't exactly like her."

Clint gave her a look. "Come on, Nat. To be fair, she probably doesn't like any of us and you can't judge her on her worst mistake." Natasha held in a sigh. He was right. She couldn't do that. After all, she had done worse. So much worse.

She ticked her jaw into place. She really wasn't looking forward to this. "To be clear, I'm not happy about this. I don't babysit."

"But you'll do it?" Steve asked her hopefully. She still looked skeptical. "Look Nat, just be nice to her for now. We don't know a thing about her."

She sighed. "Fine. Keep your expectations low. And have a backup plan for if or when she doesn't work out here." But Natasha knew deep down that it would work out fine, but there wasn't a chance she would say it out loud. If she had been able to become a part of SHIELD, so could this girl.

They talked about very little. Everyone was out of patience and energy. They really just wanted to clean up and get something to eat. So they all went off their separate ways and forgot about Wanda.

Everyone appreciated a warm shower and change of clothes and reconvened in the kitchen an hour later for dinner. Tony called in a bunch of pizzas. They spread out lazily on the furniture around the living room.

It was another half hour when Steve noticed her absence. "Hey, where's Wanda? She's probably hungry too."

Sam nodded his agreement. "She probably hasn't had a full meal in a very long time. Maybe she just didn't want to come down?"

A minute passed before Clint groaned loudly. "No, damn it." They all turned to look at him. "I told her to stay where she was until someone went to talk to her."

Steve looked concerned. "When was that?"

Clint looked down guiltily. "After we got off the jet."

"So she's been sitting in her room for the past four hours?" Steve asked immediately. Clint nodded.

"Well, one of us has to go talk to her," Steve said.

"She likes Clint the best," Natasha said quickly.

"And you're her new mentor," Clint bit back.

Natasha sighed heavily as she got to her feet. "Fine. But if she doesn't want to come down, I'm leaving her. She's an adult."

"Are you sure?" Clint asked. Natasha stared at him for a moment. She really wasn't. The little information they had on her wasn't stable. They had no idea how much of it was true. She went off to find the room Clint had shown Wanda to.

She knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Wanda's head snapped up. She quickly wiped away a few stray tears. She had obviously been crying.

Natasha's chest tightened a little bit as she looked at the girl. She was assuming that she had stayed in the exact spot where Clint had left her. She hadn't showered. She was still wearing her ripped black cotton dress and boots. Dirt and dust and blood covered a good majority of her body. Natasha's red jacket was folded and hanging over the desk chair.

The two awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds. Wanda broke the eye contact, looking down at her lap and fiddling with her rings nervously.

"You could have taken a shower," Natasha said in a monotone voice from the doorway. Wanda didn't answer or even look up. Natasha didn't miss the way she tensed up when she spoke. She tried a different approach.

"You live here now. This is your new room." Wanda's head did come up at that. "The team is having dinner downstairs. Pizza." Wanda looked at her blankly. "You ever had pizza?" The girl shook her head.

Natasha tried to push down the pity. This girl betrayed her and pulled up the darkest memories in the corners of her head. But she thought she was doing it for a good cause.

Natasha pursed her lips and sat down on the corner of the mattress. Wanda immediately pulled her knees into her chest.

"How old are you? Tell the truth." Wanda gulped nervously. She had no idea what they were going to do with her.

"Sixteen."

Well damn. Natasha hadn't expected her to be so young. She guessed the heavy makeup was making her look older. It was probably the whole reason she was wearing it.

Natasha stared at her blankly. Wanda looked away again. She wa a getting unnerved. "You're just a kid," Natasha said quietly."

Wanda gulped again. She took a breath and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything." She finally looked Natasha in the eye. Green met green. "What's going to happen to me?"

The girl wasn't even a legal adult yet. Natasha knew that changed things legally. She sighed. "Well, you're probably supposed to go into foster care because you're underage," Wanda visibly tensed, "but no one's going to ask questions. So you're going to stay here. At least for now. I'm supposed to train you."

Wanda bit her lip guiltily, pulling her knees a bit closer. "Sorry."

"You already said that."

"No," Wanda swallowed nervously. "Sorry you have to train me. You don't have to. Foster care can't be that bad in America."

Oh. Well Natasha hadn't expected her to say that. She sighed. "Look Wanda. You're a witch, whether you like it or not. You can't be trusted to be around normal people yet. You can't go into foster care."

Wanda looked down and nodded. She agreed. Natasha felt bad. "How much control do you actually have over your powers, Wanda?"

She let out a shaky breath. She was incredibly nervous. "Not much. When I get nervous, or, uh, scared, it just happens. I don't know how to stop it or get rid of it."

Natasha nodded slowly. A teenaged girl with a tremendous amount of power that she had no idea how to use. Wonderful. But she was stuck on one thing.

"Get rid of it?"

Wanda nodded. "Yeah. I, um, did not ask for this. I do not want this. I want to go back in time before I became this, but I know I cannot do that."

Natasha felt even worse for her. "No, you can't. None of us can. But you can learn to control it." She sighed. "And apparently, I'm going to be the one figuring that out with you." She offered Wanda a small smile. Wanda nodded. She didn't smile back.

"Now go take a shower. Whatever's in that bathroom is yours. I'll see if I have anything small enough to fit you. I'll wait for you and then we'll go down to the kitchen, see if they left you any pizza. Got it?" Wanda nodded. She was too nervous to say no.

Natasha returned and gave Wanda a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. They both hung off her entirely too small body. Without her makeup on, she definitely looked her age. Natasha's heart lurched. "Come. You need to eat."

The others smiled when they walked in. Not real smiles, of course. It would take awhile for any of them to. But they did.

Wanda barely ate a slice. Natasha noticed and frowned. She wasn't ready to deal with her and all the problems that would no doubt come with her. But she owed it to the world, and Wanda, and even herself, to try. She couldn't abandon Wanda. Clint didn't abandon her. It was going to be a new type of challenge, but one that she could figure out. At least this time she wasn't alone facing it.


	37. Civil War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: suicidal thoughts

The explosion in Lagos had shaken the world, but Wanda most of all. Did they not realize there was nothing they could say that she had not already said to herself? She was angry at herself and angry she was the reason all those people died. Steve tried to convince her it wasn't all her fault. So did Natasha and Vision. But it did nothing. All her self hating thoughts were only reinforced when the Accodrs were introduced.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her as they rewatched the Avengers in action. Wanda didn't recognize the first few clips, but then she saw her home. Her entire country fall apart before her eyes. The whole thing collapsed and became a pile of rubble, no longer a viable home to anyone or anything. Then they were shown Lagos. She swallowed hard as she was forced to relive the moment that she killed all those people. She really hadn't meant to. She had just wanted to save the people in the market. She always aimed to save as many lives as she could. Like Steve had pointed out, sometimes that wasn't all of them.

She could feel everyone's eyes burning into her back as Sokovia and Lagos rolled across the screen. It was just as painful to relive. She hated herself a little more with every passing second of footage.

Ross put down the paper and explained what it was. Wanda didn't really listen. She knew it was aimed at her and her only. She was dangerous. A ticking time bomb. Depending on who you asked, she had gone off once before. She knew they were just trying to save the world from her next explosion. 

Tony signed it. So did Rhodes. Her heart sank as she saw Vision follow suit. And then it absolutely shattered when Natasha did the same.

She felt numb sitting there. She heard Steve and Tony start yelling at each other. Steve was determined that the Accords were wrong, that the Avengers could not serve their purpose if they were at the will of the world government. They were so much more than a glorified military.

Wanda didn't sign the papers. She was hurt and offended and scared. Clint seemed angry and started yelling with Steve. She heard her name come up. That the world didn't need protection from her. Wanda had to admit she didn't totally agree with him.

She tried to keep herself calm the next few days. She didn't leave her room outside of food. Natasha didn't call her for training. She only came in a few times to sit with her and rub her back. She tried to tell Wanda that this would all blow over, that it would all be alright.

"Should I sign the paper?" Wanda asked her one day. Natasha was the only one that seemed level headed nowadays.

Natasha sighed. "Honestly Wanda? I don't know what the right thing is anymore, but I can assure you the Accords aren't the best option." She made a face. "But if you don't sign them, you'll be on the wrong side of the law."

"And what happens to me if I do?" Natasha sighed again and took hold of her hand. "I can't be a lab rat again, Tasha. I don't want to be a prisoner in a cage again. I can't do it."

She wanted nothing more than Natasha to just hold her and shield her away from the world. She just wanted it all to go away and to feel safe again. She was just getting a family. She wasn't ready for everything to change again.

"I know, Wands. I really, really don't want that to happen either. I don't know what our options are here. We can't fight the entire world and win." She squeezed Wanda's hand protectively. Was Natasha implying that that was a possibility? Vision had said they would protect her, but it didn't sound like they would be able to.

Then Steve, Sam, and Bucky left. They took an old fashioned car and just drove. They gave Wanda a tense goodbye at breakfast one morning. Clint had gone home to his family just days before.

Then Natasha had left. She gave Wanda a squeeze and reminded her how much she cared about her before heading away. Wanda was always one for actions above words. Natasha's didn't match.

That same day, Tony and Rhodes went too. Her and Vision were left alone at the compound. It was quiet. She absolutely hated it. Vision didn't eat, so she couldn't make huge meals, although he was kind enough to sit with her at all meals. But Vision wasn't her family. She had lost hers a long time ago. Now, she was losing it all over again.

Vision tried to cook for her one night. She had been delighted and truly touched. He was really trying to help her. But then she quickly realized he wouldn't let her leave. He said it was under Tony's orders. She was a prisoner again in her own home. She couldn't take it. She felt her sadness overtake her anger. She just couldn't do this again.

"Vizh, you are keeping me prisoner here, no? I cannot do this again."

He tilted his head. "I suppose I am, but it is for your safety. Or rather, the safety of the citizens of the world. They fear you, Wanda."

She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "I know they do, Vizh. I do too. But I can't do this again."

Before he could ask what she meant, he was fifty floors below the basement, deep in the ground. She took a few minutes to scribble out a note for whoever came back to look for her.Then, she grabbed the picture of her family off her nightstand before walking out the front doors, a single robust tear rolling down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away.

Vision was more surprised than physically hurt. Out of everyone on the team, it was Wanda who he liked the most. They shared a special kind of bond that the others just couldn't fully understand, and now he was one of the ones hurting her. He lay there, contemplating, before floating slowly back up. He walked around for awhile. Wanda was gone. He debated what to do. He knew he should probably contact Tony, but he also knew that Tony would start a manhunt for her. That was the last thing she needed and he knew it.

Then there was an explosion across the compound. Vision investigated before returning. He was met with Clint, all ready for a fight.

"Where is she, Vision? She's not yours to keep here."

The corners of Vision's lips turned downwards. "I agree, Clint. She is no one's to keep here. And I believe she has came to the same conclusion." He gestured for the hole in the ground. Clint looked in, eyebrows raising at its depth. He couldn't see the bottom. "She left."

Vision went about checking the security cameras and local ones for her. Clint looked around for any clue of where she might have been going. He had a bad feeling that even she didn't know.

And then he found the note on her bed.

He read it over and could feel the tears building behind his eyes. They had all let her down. He took the note with him and pulled out his phone as he made his way down to Vision. He texted everyone that they needed to talk immediately.

Within five minutes, he and Vision were on speakerphone with Tony and Rhodes, Steve, Sam, and Bucky, and Natasha.

"Wanda left," Clint started with. Might as well just get that out there.

"What?" Tony roared. "Vision, you were to keep her there. I'll need to contact Ross, send out a team..."

"Tony, you assigned Vision to keep her at the compound?" Steve asked indignantly. "You can't make her your prisoner just because you're scared of her."

"In case you haven't noticed, Steve, the whole world is scared of her," Rhodes added.

"But no one more than herself," Natasha said curtly. "Now shut up and let Clint talk. I assume there's more."

He sighed heavily and clenched the note a little tighter in his fist. "Yeah. She left a note. I think I should just read it." He took their silence as agreement.

\----------------------------------------------------------  
To whom it may concern-

I an so sorry for everything I have done. I have never meant any harm, but that seems to be all I have done. I truly apologize for all my actions against the team as well as all the people lives I have taken and ruined. I cannot apologize enough.

The Avengers became my family after I lost my country. I see that I have ruined this family. I hope that everyone can move past this eventually. I am sorry for causing another family to break apart. I cannot do it again. I cannot survive losing my family again.

I am leaving. Please do not look for me. I promise I will soon be gone and cause no more harm. I wish I had never survived Sokovia. Maybe then I would not have torn apart the Avengers. I cannot be another experiment. I will not survive another years as a government project. I am so sorry.

Wanda  
\----------------------------------------------------------

A long silence followed. Everyone was absolutely speechless. Even Tony had nothing to say. He couldn't send agents after her, not when he knew she was so scared of being a human lab rat again. Even though he didn't particularly like Wanda, he couldn't do that to her.

"I can be in New York in eight hours," Natasha said. "I will be there as soon as I can."

"Buck, Sam, and I will be longer," Steve piped in.

"We could have Ross and his agents looking too," Tony added. "They'll probably be able to find her,"

"NO." Natasha, Steve, Clint, Sam, and even Vision all yelled emphatically. Clint took a deep breath to cal himself down.

"Look Tony," he said darkly. "We all know you don't like her, and you don't have to. But she's hurting and she's planning to kill herself because she thinks it's going to end all the problems that the government has with the Avengers." The weight of his words took awhile to sink in. Everyone was silent for a few minutes. The phone line sounded dead.

"I'm sure Vision already has facial recognition up," Tony said weakly.

"Yes Tony, all systems are running. So far, they have not found her," Vision responded.

"Well get out looking then. You can fly. Clint, drive around. I'm almost at the airport and then I'll be there to look too. Okay? We need to find her," Natasha stressed.

"Has anyone tried calling her or pinging her phone?" Rhodes asked.

"She doesn't have one," Steve said quietly. "She's never asked for one and she doesn't know how to use a cell phone."

"And you never got her one?" They heard Rhodes ask Tony, sounding more distant. Tony shook his head.

"We'll update if we find anything," Clint said. "We need to get out and start looking. It's dark and I'm really worried."

"Yes Clint, go. We'll be there as soon as we can, man," Sam said. Clint gave a single nod and hung up the phone.

Vision stayed behind to continue to search for Wanda via cameras. Clint took the keys for one of the SUVs and drove around wildly. He had no idea where to go. Wanda didn't know the city well, which made her even more unpredictable than she would be otherwise. She wouldn't know where she was going either.

He drive around for hours, calling her name out the widow. He parked and speed walked around, but he didn't have a destination. Midnight came and went and he found his hope quickly dissipating. His phone buzzed just after three. Natasha had touched down and she was in her way to his location.

They finally met up around four am. They hugged before getting right down to business. They talked about where he had already been and reconfirmed that Vision had no hits on the cameras. They figured it would be easier and they could cover more ground if they split up. Tony said he was monitoring the cameras from the base him and Rhodes were at and were keeping it low profile so no one else knew she was missing.

Natasha headed straight for the Hudson. She knew Wanda would want to get away from all the hustle and bustle of American urban areas. She wasn't used to it and she didn't like it. The sun was finally starting to rise when Natasha reached one of the bridges that went over the Hudson. She could make out a line figure sitting on the edge.

She did her best not to run to the bridge. She had a sinking feeling that the figure was Wanda. The closer she got, the more certain she was.

Cars sped by in either direction. The girth of the bridge outside of the structures where Wanda was seated was not wide, maybe a yard. Natasha made her way quickly out into the ledge and towards Wanda.

"Hey," Natasha said quietly, carefully squatting down on the ledge, intertwining her fingers with the bridge's metal supports on her right. "Wanda, please look at me."

Natasha's heart melted when Wanda looked up at her. Her face was covered with tear streaks. Her body was far too relaxed for someone sitting on the edge of a bridge. She was leaning forward slightly, her hands folded messily in her lap. She stared blankly at Natasha and it took everything in both of them to not break the eye contact.

Natasha let out a steadying breath and extended her hand. "Wanda, can we talk? Please? I don't think I was clear the last time we spoke. Please don't do this. Please hear me out first."

She watched the gears turning in her head as Wanda considered her options. But after a minute, Wanda gently reached out and took Natasha's hand. She carefully helped Wanda to her feet. She didn't seem to care if she accidentally fell off the ledge or not.

Natasha held tight to Wanda's hand as she walked them off the bridge. She held on tight and led Wanda to a small patch of grass. They sat down on a grassy patch where they could see the sun rising over the Hudson. Wanda tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around them, releasing Natasha's hand and redirecting her eyes to the sunrise.

"Wanda," Natasha began, "I am so, so sorry. Clint read us all your note. We didn't even think that we were taking away another family from you. We really didn't mean to." She softened her voice and looked down at her lap, fingers playing idly with the cool grass. "I really didn't mean to, Wanda."

"And I don't think I made it clear when we talked before that I'll do my very best to not let anything happen to you." Wanda looked over to her curiously, wiping away a few tears. "I'll be by your side to protect you. I won't let them turn you into another human experiment. I won't let them just take you away and hide you in a lab again. I really care about you milaya. I'm sorry I hadn't made it clear that I'm here for you and will always, always do my very best to protect you."

Wanda sniffed and nodded, redirecting her gaze back at the sunset. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Natasha shot a quick text to everyone that she was talking with Wanda. She ignored all the responses and questions.

"The world is terrified of me, Tasha," Wanda said. "They hate me." A beat passed. "I hate me. It would be so much better for everyone if I just went away."

Natasha wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Not for me." She could see Wanda's walls slowly breaking, until she turned into her side and started sobbing. Natasha rubbed her back and held her close. She should have done that in the first place.

Eventually, they got up and headed back towards the compound. Natasha kept her arm wrapped firmly around Wanda's shoulders. Clint, Vision, Steve, Sam, and Bucky were all there waiting.

They took turns hugging her and telling her how relieved they were to see her. It really didn't make her feel any better. The world was still out to get her. Natasha took her hand and led her to her own room.

She sat Wanda down on the edge of her mattress. Wanda squeezed the foreign comforter beneath her. Natasha's stuff all smelled and felt comforting to her. Natasha put her hands on Wanda's shoulders and squeezed.

"Look Wanda, I want you to get some rest. We're all right out there if you need anything at all, or just want to talk or don't want to be alone. I'm going to go out there and fight for you. They're all going to do the same. We won't let your past repeat itself again, okay milaya? You're going to be alright." Wanda stared back at her miserably. "Why don't you lie down? I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

Natasha rubbed Wanda's back until she heard the girl's breathing even out. Then she stayed still. She couldn't stand to leave her alone again. She had really messed up.

Later, she could talk with everyone else about what the Accords were really asking for. Tony would surely be able to come up with some legal ways to counter. They could talk about having Wanda live in a more stable environment, like with Clint's family. Natasha could go and stay with them again, too. Wanda was young and already felt the weight of the world dragging her down. But they would all agree that Wanda needed better.

But for now, she wanted to stay with Wanda and watch over her. Just make sure that she slept some. She obviously hadn't slept at all the night before. She had wronged Wanda and she knew that. She deserved so, so much better, but for now, this was the best they could give her. Natasha would do everything she could to make sure that was enough to now.


	38. National Honor Society

Wanda was ready for another miserable day of high school. She was sitting in homeroom with headphones in, doodling idly on the edge of her homework, when her teacher stood up to talk. He never did that.

He held up three envelopes. "Now kids, these are for you to open with your parents after school today. Wait until then, please."

The other kids seemed to get excited as he handed out the envelopes. He called up a girl named Emma, some boy named Alex, then,

"Wanda Maximoff." She opened her eyes wider, startled. What terrible thing had she done wrong now to deserve a letter for her to have to wait to see Natasha to open?

She cautiously went up and collected the letter. He smiled at her as he handed her the envelope. She tried to smile back, but could feel the nerves building. She tried jot to show her panic building. She tucked away the envelope deep in her backpack, where maybe she could just forget about it.

It couldn't be that easy, of course. Wanda had trouble focusing in all of her classes that day. She continued to draw on the edges of every paper, including her English quiz, which she had finished incredibly early. She was always blown away that some of the kids didn't seem to study for them.

By lunch time, she wasn't hungry. She was far too nervous.

"Hi Wanda," Peter said as she sat down with him and his two friends. He frowned. "You look stressed."

"Yeah, what's up?" MJ agreed.

Wanda sighed softly and pulled out an apple from her lunch bag. She knew she should at least eat something. "I got a letter in homeroom today. My teacher said to wait until I got home to open it with my 'parents' but I'm so nervous and what did I do wrong and Tasha's going to kill me-"

"Wanda, woah," Peter cut her off. He exchanged a sly glance with Ned and MJ. "Have you ever thought that what's in the letter might be a good thing? I got an envelope too."

She blinked at him blankly. "No, not really. What have I done that has been good?"

They all laughed heartily at her response and she smiled in spite of herself and relaxed a little bit. They didn't seem too worried so maybe she shouldn't be either. But of course, that worry came right back near the end of fifth period when she accidentally surfaced the envelope again.

She met Peter at their usual place in front of the school to wait for Happy to come pick them up. Wanda had been intimidated by him at first. He could be condescending, and he was a very large man, but she found him to be nicer as time went on. Natasha had told her a story of how she had gotten Happy's respect by taking him down in simple hand to hand combat way back when she first met Tony. Wanda decided that she really liked Happy, and he seemed to really enjoy picking up her and Peter from school.

"Hey kiddos, how was your day?" He asked as they climbed into the back seat. Wanda tried to flash him a smile, which didn't really work.

Peter gave her a sympathetic glance. "It was fine, Happy. We got these envelopes in homeroom that not everyone got and they said to wait to open it with your parents." Ah. Happy glanced at Wanda, who was staring out the window, backpack clutched fo her chest, as he pulled out into the street.

"And you kids are nervous about what's in them?"

Wanda nodded, while Peter shrugged. "I don't know, I can't think of anything stupid I've done since the start of the school year," he said. "I'm hoping it's a good thing."

Happy smiled at him in the rear view mirror. "I bet it is. You two are good kids. People are finally noticing." They continued to talk easily while Wanda silently stared out the window on the way back to the compound.

Happy pulled them into the garage and hopped out. Peter practically ran up to Tony's lab so he could open his envelope. Happy gave Wanda a sad smile as she shifted her backpack on her shoulders. "Not as eager, huh?" She shook her head and walked to the elevator.

Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Sam were all in the kitchen when she stepped off the elevator. They smiled at her.

"Hey Wands, how was school?" Clint asked. She shrugged and didn't smile. She put down her backpack and started rifling through it. Natasha and Clint exchanged a look.

"Is everything okay?" Natasha asked carefully. Wanda gulped and shrugged as she finally found the envelope and pulled it out. She leaned on the counter across from Natasha, avoiding her eyes as her fingers toyed with the edges of the envelope.

"Uh, I got this letter in homeroom today. Peter got one too. I, um, my teacher said to wait til I got home to open it with my parents." Wanda held up air quotes. She bit her lip, still avoiding Natasha's eyes as she extended the envelope to her. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I thought I was doing okay in all my classes."

Natasha smiled at her and squeezed her hand affectionately. "Whatever it is, I'm not mad. I know you're trying your best." She finally met Wanda's eyes. "Now aren't you at least the tiniest bit curious what's in the envelope?" Wanda shook her head. Sam laughed.

She slumped into a seat at the table as Natasha opened the letter. Her eyebrows furrowed and eyes widened as she read further down the page. "Holy shit, Wanda."

Wanda gulped. So it was bad.

Clint and Steve looked over Natasha's shoulder and started reading the letter. Their faces broke out into grins. Clint cheered.

"What does it say?" Wanda asked anxiously. Natasha cleared her throat, a smile forming on her face.

"On behalf of the academic council of the Midtown School of Science and Technology, we take great pleasure in announcing that Wanda Maximoff has been chosen to be inducted into the National Honor Society." She looked up at Wanda, smiling tenderly. "This is a really, really good thing, Wanda."

Sam whooped and put up his hand for a high five. Wanda did so without much enthusiasm. "What is the National Honor Society?"

"It's the top ten percent of every high school class in this super society for smart people," Clint said. "I didn't get it. I'm pretty sure Bruce did."

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. "There is no way I belong in a society for smart people," she said. Natasha walked over and sat down next to her. She squeezed her hand.

"Wanda, what did you get on that English vocabulary quiz today?"

"Um, one hundred."

"Hm." Natasha's smile widened. "And the one last Friday?"

"One hundred."

"And what about that history project you did on the Great Depression?" Steve asked her. He had helped Wanda with it a lot and become very invested in it.

"A hundred."

"Damn kid," Sam said, shaking his head. "You sound like you belong in the genius society to me. I didn't get in when I was in high school." He directed his attention to Natasha. "When's the induction?"

Natasha scanned the letter. "Next Friday night at six."

Wanda tilted her head a bit. "Induction?"

"There's a ceremony to make you an official member. You walk across a little stage and they give you a certificate or something," Natasha explained. Wanda nodded.

"I thought that came when I was done with high school?"

Clint clapped her on the back. "For smart kids like you, you get multiple certificates at multiple times."

Wanda finally let it start to sink in. This was a good thing. She bit her lip to hold back a smile.

"We're so proud of you, Wanda," Steve told her, smiling softly. "This is really cool and a big accomplishment, especially considering most of your classmates have five years of education on you."

Natasha squeezed her hand again. Wanda looked to her. "So proud," she emphasized. Wanda finally released her lip and smiled as Natasha pulled her into a hug.

"My kid is a genius!" Tony declared as he came into the kitchen, Peter trailing behind him, grinning sheepishly. "He got into the National Honor Society." He held up Peter's letter and waved it around triumphantly.

Steve grinned and high fived Peter. "That's awesome, Pete."

He smiled back. "Thanks Steve. Wanda, is that what your letter was for too?"

She smiled at him and nodded.

Tony's eyes doubled in size. "What?" The room fell into silence. Wanda's heart dropped a little. She really didn't know what he was going to say.

"We have two super genius kids on the Avengers? We're gonna be unstoppable!"

Sam cheered in agreement and high fived Tony. The rest of the day was spent with jubilant celebration as word got around. They ordered pizza for dinner as they planned for the induction ceremony.

"Uh, you guys don't have to come," Peter said, looking to Wanda for support. She nodded fervently in agreement.

"Yes. We know you all have training that night, and that I am supposed to join you. This is really not a big deal."

The room was quiet for a moment as everyone stared at the two teens. Clint finally broke the silence. "Are you kidding me? This is a huge deal! We're all going to be there, of course. We do enough training. We never get to celebrate things that happen."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "We're getting a cake, a big one, with both of your faces on it, obviously." Peter and Wanda exchanged horrified looks. The others snickered as Tony went on. "Stark Industries will have to have a press release about the two most awesome teenagers on the planet. Maybe a gala? I haven't had one in awhile."

"But Mister Stark, Pepper's birthday bash," Peter said in a strained voice.

Tony waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, that was almost a week ago. So far back, no one even remembers. Now, I'll have to get the party planning committee right on this. Do you both have good headshots? You'll need good headshots. They'll be on all the invitations, obviously."

"And also obviously, he's kidding," Natasha said, deciding the kids had been tormented enough. They both let out sighs of relief. "But we are really going to be there to watch you guys get your certificates, and a cake isn't a bad idea. And it doesn't have to have your faces on it."

"But it could," Sam said.

Clint nodded. "It totally could. I vote for face cake."

Everyone laughed as Wanda and Peter exchanged yet another absolutely horrified look. "It'll be a good night. This really is a big thing, you two. You deserve to have it celebrated," Steve said gently. They both bobbed their heads.

Wanda showered and ate dinner before starting on her homework. She still had trouble with a lot of the English words and grammar, but her teacher said her ideas were always there and she clearly understood her assignments and the main ideas of the stories they read. She was answering a few short answer questions when she heard a knock. She looked up and smiled to see Natasha standing in her doorway. "Hey."

Wanda put her notebook and pencil aside. "Hey."

Natasha sat down next to her on the mattress. "After you finish your homework, do you want to come watch something before we go to bed?"

Wanda looked down at her pile of work and sighed. "Yes please."

"Anything I can help with?" Natasha asked, tilting Wanda's notebook towards her, reading the questions she had written out.

Wanda sighed and played with a loose thread on her sleeve. "I do not think I understand what question number five is asking. I cannot seem to find a definition that is less complicated than the word online."

Natasha read the sentence to herself. "Jeez, Wanda. What kind of crap do they have you reading? What was the brabble between the antagonist and protagonist about?"

Wanda sighed and pushed some hair behind her ear. "I have no idea. I just learned what antagonists and protagonists are. What is brabble?"

Natasha slowly shook her head. "I have no idea." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the search results. "Why don't you come back to that one, I'll try to figure it out."

Wanda thanked her and finished the rest of her homework before coming back to the question. Natasha looked up and grinned. "To brabble means to argue about meaningless things. It's Old English."

"Oh." Wanda looked worried. "I do not fully know the current English. Am I to also learn the Old English?"

Natasha laughed. "No, no. It's called that because it's not used anymore. The only time you'll see it will probably be in your school books. Don't worry about it." Wanda nodded and scratched out a response before neatly returning everything to her backpack.

She and Natasha settled in under the covers to watch an episode of Chopped when Natasha looked at her. "You know, I really am proud of you Wanda." Wanda smiled. "You've come so far. Look at you now." She pressed a kiss to her hair before they turned their attention back to the episode.

The next week flew by. It turned out that Ned and MJ had both also gotten letters, but had opened theirs immediately after receiving them, and they didn't want to spoil the surprise for their friends. The night finally came for the induction.

Wanda was wearing a loose grey sweater dress that went down to her knees and some ankle high tan boots. She had on some simple silver jewelry and had finished her very light makeup.

Natasha was working on her hair and fussing over her look. She carefully put a hand up to shield Wanda's face from the hairspray. She had an intricate waterfall braid that went around her head and let her hair flow down and sit just past her shoulders. Natasha was just finishing straightening the pieces that hung down and adjusting the loose pieces.

"Stand up," Natasha instructed. Wanda did as she was told. Natasha looked her up and down and put her finger up for her to twirl. Wanda did that too. Then Natasha liked at her and gently took her hands. "You look beautiful, milaya." She turned Wanda towards the mirror and rested her chin on the girl's shoulder.

Wanda smiled. The dress did look nice and it was very comfortable. Peter had warned them it was going to be a long ceremony. The jewelry seemed to sit daintily in all the right places. Her makeup make her eyes pop and her hair looked beautiful and neat. Wanda had never had it straightened before. Natasha usually curled it for Tony's galas.

"What do you think?" Natasha asked after a minute. She watched the smile on Wanda's face as she gently shook her hips so the skirt twisted around.

"I like it. My hair looks very nice."

Natasha kissed her head. "It does indeed. You're so pretty Wanda. But tonight, you look gorgeous." They stood theirs quietly for another minute, smiling, before they walked out. Natasha had already changed into her loose red dress and simple black wedges.

Everyone looked up as they came in. They smiled at the ladies. "You both look very nice," Steve commented, smiling.

"Yeah, a waterfall really suits your style, Wanda," Clint commented. Natasha quirked an eyebrow at him. He shrugged. "What? I have a daughter. Sometimes I do her hair."

Peter and Tony joined them soon after and they headed off for the school, after, of course, some pictures. Happy took a group one of all of them, then just the kids, then them with their individual parent.

The ceremony was, as Peter had predicted, long and boring. There was a lot of talking and speeches made that Wanda drifted off during. Ned was on her left and was playing games on his phone discreetly. He turned his screen towards her so she could watch.

Finally, they started calling names. Wanda and Peter were both pretty far down in the alphabet. But eventually, it was her turn.

"Wanda Maximoff," the girl announced. The Avengers all stood up, cheering loudly as she walked up into the stage. She blushed, but found herself smiling nonetheless. It felt good to have people in her corner.

She shook hands with the principal, who handed her a certificate and a pin. He grinned at her. "Congratulations Miss Maximoff."

She smiled right back and gave him a nod of thanks before returning to her seat. Next to her, Ned had already unearthed his pin and put it proudly on his tie. He nudged her. "So I guess we're officially geniuses or whatever." Wanda laughed quietly.

"Yeah Ned, I guess we are."

They all stood up again to yell and cheer for Peter on his turn. Wanda and Ned gave him overenthusiastic thumbs up on his way back to his seat. He shook his head, but grinned.

After the ceremony, the kids were all lined up for a group picture, then individuals with their certificates before they were released to go see their families.

Wanda and Peter immediately found themselves in a big group hug with all the Avengers. "We're so proud of you two," Bruce said, his voice muffled. Everyone pulled back so they could look at each other again.

Natasha grinned and squeezed Wanda's shoulder. "We really are."

Tony squeezed Peter's shoulders too. "So how does it feel to officially be a part of the genius society?"

Peter laughed and shrugged. "Can't say it feels any different, Mister Stark. For you?" He looked to Wanda, who shook her head.

Ned and MJ came over to the group. They awkwardly waved to the Avengers. Ned was always in awe, no matter how many times he met them. "Hi Avengers," Ned said airily.

MJ rolled her eyes and hit his arm. "Peter, Wanda, we need a picture." They nodded in agreement.

The four friends lined up in front of the stage under the balloons as all their families took pictures of them. Wanda couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so hard. Something so normal, so nice. She had friends and a big accomplishment and people who were proud of her. It had been a very long time since that had last happened.

After a lot more picture taking, they all headed back to the compound. Rhodes pulled out a sheet cake from the fridge and set it on the table. "I hope you two like it. I put in the order and tried to keep it simple." On the cake were their names with congratulations, surrounded by red and blue flowers.

Wanda and Peter smiled. "This looks awesome Colonel Rhodes. Thank you," Peter said.

Wanda nodded her agreement. "Really. We appreciate it." She looked around.

Of course, the Avengers took pictures of them with their cake before slicing it up and handing out the slices of pizza. They are pizza and cake until both were completely gone.

Every single one of them went to bed that night feeling lighter than they had in a very long time. It had been such a nice evening, full of safety, happiness, and celebration. Both of those kids deserved something good in their lives.

And the next week, when a large framed picture of all of the Avengers lined up in front of the balloons with Peter and Wanda holding their certificates showed up in the common room, they all smiled. It was just the levity they needed.


	39. Spider Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: reference to sexual abuse

Natasha was never kidnapped. Ever. It really didn't happen unless she had to let herself for a mission. It had only happened two times before, but now was a third. Being outnumbered was never usually a problem before, until those outnumbering her were super strong due to a knock off serum of the one Steve used.

The remaining Avengers were forced to retreat and regroup, not that any of them wanted to. Their injuries were too severe.

Wanda had a bad concussion and she worked hard to use her powers to lift an unconscious Clint and human Bruce into the quintet. Steve and Tony were badly knocked up. The suit had many, many dents in it. One of Sam's wings had been ripped clean off. Things weren't looking good for any of them.

Medical rushed out to meet them at the compound. Bruce had come around and Clint was hazy. Wanda kneeled down by his head. "Where's Nat?" He asked. Wanda bit her lip. "Wanda, where's Nat?"

Wanda shook her head slowly. "We don't know, Clint." He immediately tried to get up. Wanda let out a shaky breath as Steve had to come help him stay down.

Cho and her team walked the Avengers up to the medical wing, as they all refused stretchers or wheelchairs. Clint's arm was badly broken in two places and a self diagnosed concussion, maybe some broken ribs and vertebrae. Wanda had a few cracked ribs and a terrible headache. Bruce wasn't really hurt, just stunned by the events of the day. Steve was too.

"We need to go back," Clint groaned out. "We don't know what they're doing to her."

Steve nodded his agreement. "We will, but not like this, Clint. We can't help her right now."

He sighed heavily. He knew Steve was right, but that didn't mean he was okay with it. Besides, maybe a plan would help them get in and get out this time with fewer injuries.

Natasha was badly hurt, too. She could feel the crack in her knee cap and it was beyond painful. The two halves shifted around whenever she bent her leg, even slightly. She pressed a hand to her head and felt a warm, sticky liquid around her crown and the back of her head. She had most definitely cracked her skull.

She could feel the fog of a concussion setting in. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she tried to sit up. She immediately leaned over and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. She tried to breathe through the pain, but it was hard. She could feel the sharp edge of a rib pressing against her lung with every breath. She wasn't going to be able to get out of this one alone without some serious damage. She really hoped the team was coming up with some kind of plan.

Thankfully, they were. Clint was in a sling and Steve and Tony were on tablets. The rest of them were too concussed to be looking at bright light. Steve was staring at a screenshot of the facility's layout, praying that was where Natasha was. Tony was looking for security cameras he could hack into and heat signatures to count.

"Okay," Tony said after over an hour of silence. He breathed and looked up at everyone. "Okay. I think this is doable."

He pulled up Steve's screenshot on the big screen for everyone to see. They could put up with the light if it meant saving Natasha. Steve talked them through their best route to where Natasha probably was, identified by Tony as the single, small, heat signature alone in a small room on the second floor. Tony then went over the best plan to get through the people, which they figured was just holding them off.

"Wanda and Steve will go find Nat while the rest of us hold backup without drawing too much attention. Clint, it would really be best if you ran things from the jet. Be ready to take off when the witch and widow get back." They all expected Clint to protest and argue that he was fine, but he was too hurt for that. He just gave a single nod.

They took off only three days after the mission for the base, but a lot could happen in three days. They really, really hoped Natasha would be some semblance of okay.

Thankfully, she was. She had managed to get to her feet, ready to assault the next person that came through the door. When the soldier came in, Natasha managed to throw all her body weight into him and effectively knock him out. She dragged the body farther into the room, out of view from the hallway, and took his gun. Then she slid down the wall to the floor. She really thought she was going to fall over and pass out.

Wanda effectively knocked out every single guard they could see at once from the coverage of the woods. It took her a few minutes to work up her magic to spread to all of them. Steve was right there next to her, encouraging her and talking her through the people inside the building, but that was too much. She closed her eyes and took away all consciousness from their minds, effectively blacking them all out temporarily. Steve nodded. "Good job, kid. Now we'll have backup for all the ones you didn't get." It helped that all the guards suddenly falling unconscious attracted and drew out the guards inside.

Wanda and Steve headed straight for the back door while Tony, Sam, and Rhodey kept the attention of the guards. Steve knocked open the locked door and they rushed upstairs. They saw the door that they thought Natasha was behind. It was open. Wanda and Steve exchanged a look. That could mean a lot of things. Steve stood guard and went ahead of Wanda, who cautiously made her way into the room. She was immediately tackled to the ground. She used her powers to keep the knife from meeting her neck.

She looked up, breathing heavily, and looked right into Natasha's eyes. Her face was covered in blood and bruises. She hadn't fared well during the initial fight either and unlike the rest of them, she hadn't received any medical inspection.

"Tasha," Wanda said, looking into her eyes. She lay under her, not wanting to startle her any more than she was. Plus, her concussed mind wasn't going too fast. She relaxed when she saw recognition flash in Natasha's eyes.

Natasha let out a breath and then a pained grunt as she rolled off of Wanda, sprawling out on the floor. Wanda let her take a few moments before moving.

Wanda slowly moved over next to Natasha's head and knelt down. She carefully moved some hair out of Natasha's face and looked into her eyes, she kept her hands in her hair. "What hurts, Tasha?" She asked quietly.

Natasha groaned and closed her eyes. "I'm so glad you're here milaya."

"No, Tasha, please stay awake. That's what you always tell me."

"I'll stay awake, the light just hurts," Natasha responded quietly.

Wanda nodded slowly. It was hurting her head too. She slowly carded her fingers through Natasha's hair. "We need to leave. Do you want Steve to carry or you or do you want to walk?"

Wanda helped her sit up, a guiding hand between her shoulder blades. She moved to squat in front of Natasha. "You ready?" She hadn't thought Natasha would want to be carried.

Natasha nodded and let Wanda help her to her feet. Wanda held both her hands to steady her as she found her balance. She noticed how heavily Natasha was favoring her right leg.

Wanda tapped into the coms and told everyone she had Natasha and she was up and awake, but injured. Steve appeared on the doorway and looked Natasha up and down.

"Don't pick me up Steve," she said in a low voice. She didn't want to be touched by a man again for a very long time after her three days in the building.

He looked from her to Wanda and back. "Nat, are you sure? You can barely walk. How about I-"

"Wanda and I will be fine, Steve," she said, voice still firm. Wanda didn't know what was up with her, but she had been held hostage by enough people to know that hatred of touch. She nodded at Steve to show her support of Natasha's decision. He sighed and turned around to lead everyone back out.

Thankfully, most of the guards were unconscious as they went out. Natasha's breathing was labored but shallow and she held tightly around Wanda's shoulders. Wanda kept one hand hooked around her back and tried to take as much of her weight as she could. Natasha was swinging her leg more than actually walking. Wanda didn't comment and Steve wouldn't after what had gone down upstairs.

Finally, they made it to the safety of their team. Tony and Rhodey held off the guards as the three got on the quinjet. Wanda helped lower Natasha into one of the seats. "A knee brace to keep it straight, yes?" Wanda asked. Natasha nodded, keeping her head down. Her eyes were screwed shut again.

Steve looked around frantically and came back over with a cloth bandage and two long metal rods. Natasha's batons. He looked between the two women. "Wanda, do you know how to do a brace?"

She cautiously took the brace and rods. "I put one on either side and wrap them, so her leg stays straight, yes?"

Steve nodded. So did Natasha. "You watched those first aid videos, Wanda. Just go for it," Natasha said through gritted teeth. She did her best applying the brace. Natasha held the two braces weakly on either side while Wanda wrapped them tightly. She taped the end on and looked up. Natasha nodded her approval.

"Cho's ready for incoming when we get back," Steve said. "Where in your leg?"

Wanda settled back in next to Natasha, who leaned into her. Wanda leaned back. "Knee cap, two pieces," Natasha answered. She was obviously in a ton of pain, so Steve stopped and went up front to talk with the others.

Wanda ran her fingers gently through Natasha's hair, making sure not to tug at it, trying to bring her comfort. "Did the men do things to you, Tasha?" She nodded weakly against Wanda. That was all she needed to hear. She gave her a quiet alright before returning to stroking her hair.

Cho and her team rushed Natasha upstairs and into an x-ray, then surgery. Wanda stayed with her until she was asleep, and was right there when she awoke.

Her IV was full of pain medicines and the lights were off, for the sake of both her and Wanda. Wanda smiled at her softly as she came to. "How's the pain?"

Natasha tested sitting up, and found it easier than earlier. "Fine, I guess. Much better."

Wanda nodded and looked to her lap. "Uh, they found extensive bruising on your hips, as well as a crack in the back of your head. They think a concussion, and rib fractures are very close to a lung. Cho mentioned another surgery?"

Natasha nodded, taking it all in. "Makes sense. Glad I didn't pop it." She was silent for a second, also looking down at her lap. "Did they say what the bruising on my hips is suspected to be from?"

Wanda shook her head. "Cho went right over it in her run down. I don't believe anyone suspects anything. Do you want them to know?"

Natasha shook her head and finally looked up at her. "No. They don't need to. Clint will figure it out and no one needed to tell you." She gave Wanda a small smile and slid over a little, patting the space. "Sit with me?"

Wanda nodded, with a ghost of a smile on her lips, she slipped into the bed next to Natasha and pulled the covers over both of them. They leaned into each other.

Natasha gently picked up Wanda's hand under the covers and squeezed. "I'm really glad you're here, Wanda. I love you kiddo."

Wanda smiled a bit and squeezed right back. "I love you too, Tasha. Sorry we couldn't get there sooner."

Natasha shook her head. "Not your fault. It wouldn't have helped anyone if we all got caught." She looked at Wanda. "If the two of us were there."

Wanda nodded as she caught onto her train of thought. Natasha was the one usually comforting her, but Wanda knew she needed to step it up. "Well, then isn't it good that we're here, now. We're both gonna be okay eventually. Things will look better when we wake up later."

Natasha sighed and smiled at her. "Yeah, we will. You're right. So I guess we should get to sleep, huh."

Wanda nodded. "I too have concussion, so light is bad and am very tired. But I will sleep better with you here, now."

"Me too, milaya."

They drifted off curled around one another, both sleeping better than they had in days. Their exhaustion was palpable and Wanda had been right: things were indeed better when they woke up. Less pain, more healing. It would take awhile, but they knew they could get there together.


	40. Sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: implied past sexual assault

Wanda and Vision had been dating for a little over a month. The rest of the team was in the main room watching the Bachelorette while the pair were hanging out in his room, watching a movie. Sam had been the one to get them all into the Bachelor, and therefore the Bachelorette. They agreed to watch it ironically, but quickly became hooked. They were watching a private date when Wanda practically ran through the room.

"Hey, Wanda, everything okay?" Steve asked. She didn't answer. She headed straight for her room.

Vision showed up in the doorway and looked after her. He looked at the group. They looked at him

"What did you do to her Vision?" Tony asked, brows furrowed.

Vision opened and closed his mouth. "I, um, should I go talk to her?"

Natasha got to her feet. "Depends what you did or said. I'll go talk to her." She walked down the hallway and knocked on Wanda's closed door. "Wanda?"

A minute passed before she answered. "Tasha?"

"Yeah, it's me. Can I come in?" Wanda opened the door and Natasha tried not to react. She was pale and her eyes were welling with tears. Natasha walked in and sat on the edge of her mattress. Wanda locked the door behind her.

Natasha watched calmly as Wanda paced wildly. "Are you hurt?"

Wanda shook her head, not stopping. "No, I'm fine. It's fine." She blew out a breath, before more quietly saying, "it's fine, everything's fine, I'm fine."

Natasha had to admit she was curious what Vision had done to upset her so much. Her eyes kept darting around the room and checking the door, looking for a person who didn't exist.

After a few minutes, she still showed no signs of slowing down. Natasha finally stood up and grabbed Wanda's hands gently to stop her. "Hey, Wanda, stop. What happened?"

Wanda pulled her hands away and Natasha let her. She furrowed her eyebrows worriedly. "What did Vision do to you?"

Wanda closed her eyes and let out a few breaths. "Nothing, he didn't do anything wrong." She took another few breaths. She obviously wasn't done talking.

"He asked if I wanted to have sex."

Oh. Everything clicked into place for Natasha. Of course she was a little freaked out.

"Oh Wanda, come here. Can I please hug you?"

Wanda nodded slowly and let Natasha wrap her arms around her snugly. She intertwined her fingers in Wanda's hair and used the other hand to rub her back up and down. "Did he try anything?"

Wanda shook her head into Natasha's shoulder. Her voice was slightly muffled. "No, he just asked. He didn't try to touch me. I just panicked."

Natasha nodded in understanding and continued to rub her back. "That's okay milaya. You're alright. Can we talk about this more?" She felt Wanda nod before pulling away. They sat down on the edge of the mattress. Wanda kept looking at the door nervously. Natasha squeezed her hands.

"Look Wanda, you have every reason to be nervous about having sex. It requires a lot of trust and everyone seems to break yours."

Wanda was silent for a few seconds. She quickly swiped away a tear that ran down her cheek. "I have had sex far too often for someone who has never wanted to before."

Natasha's heart absolutely shattered as she pulled Wanda in for another hug as she started to cry. She held Wanda firmly against her chest, trying to give her some sort of comfort. She knew nothing would really comfort Wanda right now, though.

After a few minutes, Wanda sagged against her chest. She was exhausted from being so upset. Natasha made no move to let go of her.

"Do you trust Vision?" Natasha asked her evenly. After a few seconds, Wanda shrugged. "Would you also say that you don't really trust men?" Wanda froze, before she sighed.

"And that's okay," Natasha assured her. "But you can't let that dominate your life. I can tell you from experience that it really sucks to go your life without trusting anyone."

Wanda sniffed and looked up at her innocently. "But I trust you."

Natasha smiled tenderly and ran a finger through Wanda's long brown locks. Her heart swelled and warmth rushed to her chest. She pressed a kiss to Wanda's hair.

"You know I love you hear you say that milaya." She smiled to herself and continued to card her slender fingers through Wanda's hair, thinking. "But I think we could both do with some expanding of our circles of trust."

Wanda sighed in agreement. "I don't know how, Tasha."

Natasha chuckled quietly. Wanda looked up at her, curious. "I don't think I do either, Wands."

Wanda giggled despite herself. Natasha looked down at her and met her eyes. Wanda was biting back a grin. Natasha sighed and tried vainly to stop the smile from spreading across her face. She laughed too.

"We have sooooo many problems," Wanda said, still giggling. Natasha snorted and laughed a little louder. They sat in silence for another few minutes, taking great comfort from one another.

Wanda finally pulled away from her, hands sliding down Natasha's arms to hold her hands again. A small smile still played on her lips. "I really like Vizh, Tasha. He's so kind and such a gentleman."

Natasha smiled. She was glad that Wanda was happy. "I'm really glad to hear that. But however nice he is, even if he hasn't done anything to intentionally hurt you, trust is still earned." She shrugged. "Maybe he hasn't done anything to make you not trust him, but you don't really have many reasons to trust him either. We all know little about him."

"But I want to," Wanda said softly. Natasha smiled a little and let out a small sigh. She squeezed Wanda's hands. This girl was too pure for this world.

"Trust comes with time, Wanda. You've got to give him chances to show you he can be trusted, which will be scary." Wanda looked down, the smile slipping slowly off her face.

"But I can be there with you for some of it. Start small. Yeah?" Wanda nodded hesitantly. Natasha squeezed her hands more firmly. "We're gonna get through this Wanda. I'm here for you. I know this is hard." She trailed off. She didn't really know what else to say.

Wanda sighed and leaned into her side. "Thanks Tasha."

Natasha nodded simply. She felt terrible. She knew how much Wanda wanted to trust the team completely, but she just couldn't. Trusting people had backfired on her before. It had really backfired on both of them.

"Wanna rewatch tonight's episode of the Bachelorette?" Natasha asked her. Wanda nodded. The pair headed back out to the common room and snuggled up on the couch. The rest of the team had headed off to their bunks for the night. Natasha cued up the show and tucked a blanket around them both.

At the third commercial break, Vision walked into the room. He waved at Wanda awkwardly. Natasha felt Wanda unconsciously tense up next to her. She squeezed her hand comfortingly. "Hi Vizh."

"Hello Wanda." He made eye contact with her and just stared for a few seconds. "I am very sorry for making you uncomfortable earlier with the proposition of sex. I have talked it through with Clint and now understand why that would make you uncomfortable."

Natasha raised her eyebrows slightly. "You talked it through with Clint? How did that start?"

Vision seemed unperturbed by her question. "Well, he had asked what I said before Wanda left my room and headed to her own and I told him that I suggested we could have intercourse. He talked for minute and educated me some, before heading off for a shower. He seemed quiet uncomfortable as well. Is sex an uncomfortable topic for all humans?"

Next to her, Wanda giggled. Natasha exchanged a playful look with her. "Yes Vision, sex is usually only talked about between the two people engaging in it."

"Oh." He nodded thoughtfully. "So I suppose Wanda and I should talk more about our potential sex life later, more in private?"

Wanda's giggles got a little stronger. Natasha smiled and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Yes Vision, please wait until you're alone with Wanda to talk about your potential sex life. And to be clear, you make sure she feels comfortable or I'll come for you."

Vision nodded. "Noted, Natasha." He smiled and bowed slightly to Wanda. "Goodnight ladies. Can we talk tomorrow, Wanda?"

She smiled a little and nodded. "Yes, we probably should. Goodnight Vizh."

After they were alone, Natasha turned back to Wanda to check in. "I can never decide if his lack of social norms is a good or bad thing."

Wanda nodded her agreement. "He is like a clean slate, untouched by the evils of humans yet. He is innocent," she said quietly. "And he is always understanding of my feelings, even if he can't understand them himself."

"Well that sounds good to me," Natasha said. "Healthy. And that talk sounds pretty healthy, too. A good first step."

Wanda looked at her and smiled. "Yes. A good first step."

The show ended a few minutes later and they headed off to Natasha's room. She knew Wanda was still on edge and nervous from the day. They both slept better with the other one next to them. They took turns changing and brushing their teeth.

Natasha slid in under the covers next to Wanda before turning out the light. After a few minutes, Wanda spoke in the darkness. "Wanda?"

"Yeah Tasha?"

"I don't think he would, but don't let Vision, or any guy or woman, pressure you into doing anything uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable for a reason. If you feel uncomfortable, you can always leave and call me. I'll be there."

Natasha couldn't see the small, sad smile that crossed Wanda's face in the darkness. How she wished Natasha had been there to call in the past when men made her uncomfortable. "Thank you Tasha. I love you."

Natasha smiled and squeezed her hand. "I love you too milaya. I'll always be here when you need me."

Wanda snuggled a little closer, feeling safe against Natasha's side, as she let the darkness overtake her.


End file.
